THE POSITION OF CANNED TUNA IN THE MODERN WORLD
According to Peter (2010), the modern American canned tuna industry is almost fully possessed by the Asians. The globe’s leading canned tuna firm, Thai Union Frozen Products, is close to obtaining the biggest canned tuna company in Northern America, Bumble Bee Seafoods. It is a deal that once approved would strengthen the Thai Union’s supremacy by making it the largest producer of canned tuna in North America, which is the globe’s largest market for canned tuna. It would also be another American canned tuna industry purchased by an Asian firm. This business of obtaining more tuna that will be canned by Asian firms is the latest instance of what is already a swift alliance of the worldwide seafood industry, a reaction to the fluctuating consumer demands and costs.
The newly combined company is able to house two of the three most identifiable and consumed canned tuna products in the nation: the chicken of the sea that is already possessed by Thai Union and currently Bumble Bee. When combined, the two companies form 38% of the sales of canned tuna made in the United States. A more positive aspect of the canned tuna industry is that the people of America consume canned tuna that is more expensive, which creates enough revenue to recompense the state’s decreasing levels of consumption (Peter 2010).
Even after once being known as one of the best foods for the American people, canned tuna has recently not been too marketable. A research study by Euromonitor research firm showed that the recent sales of canned tuned fell to the lowest levels not witnessed in over 15 years. Per capita canned tuna consumption dropped by close to 30% in 15 years. Even with the dip in consumption being recorded, the National Fisheries Institute reports that in 2015, Americans consumed over 700 million pounds of canned tuna. This figure represents 2.2 pounds of canned tuna per individual, which is enough to get canned tuna to the top three most consumed seafood items in the country (Ferdman 2014).
Today, it is estimated that in one year, all the canned tuna traded from supermarkets or even utilized in the department of prepared foods shall be obtained from fisheries using catch methods, which eradicates catching fish accidentally because the fishermen catch tuna one by one. The new policy by Whole Foods requires canned tuna products to be obtained from certified fisheries that have been rated as the best choice or a good alternative. The already canned tuna is also required to be traceable as well by Whole Foods. In the recent years, the department of Agriculture in USA has given out very few dollars to the tuna industry. This is because the department has being accusing the tuna industry of sanitation cases and claims that American tuna is not entirely American (Ferdman 2014).
In the modern world, it has been discovered that tuna fishing is capable of hurting other life in the sea, including sharks and dolphins. Dolphins are known to be easily caught accidently during tuna fishing. The modern canned tuna industry is therefore deemed as not being dolphin-safe (Watson 2015). This concern for other sea life is another reason to drive down sales.
To conclude, due to the current increase in competition amongst the fisheries, companies, species and their products, the most vital issue in the canned tuna industry would be to find a way to manage and assign the resources of tuna amongst the competitors. For the industry to achieve the goal, it is vital that the ecological as well as socio-economic considerations are included in the decision making process along with the allocation and capacity issues.
