The 20th-Century Tuna Boom

Before the 1950s, most tuna were local fisheries. The rise of canning technology (early 20th century) created a global commodity. Japanese demand for raw tuna in the 1970s created a luxury market. Combined pressure crashed bluefin stocks across three oceans. Modern ICCAT quotas have partly recovered Atlantic bluefin, but ranching-based Mediterranean farming has replaced much of the wild catch.