CHAPTER 7 



The Tuna Industry 



Roland Finch 



The Development of Tuna Canning in the United States 



Accounts of the origin of the tuna industry are somewhat conflict- 

 jj^g4,3.27^ but it is generally agreed that the initial stimulus was provided 

 in 1903 by the failure of the sardine run in the San Pedro, California 

 area. This led Mr. A. P. Halfhill to experiment with alternative fish, 

 including albacore, in order to maintain his canning operation. 



By 1912, when 75,900 cases were packed, the industry was firmly 

 established at the beginning of a continuous upward trend w^hich has 

 continued until nearly 150 times the 1912 amount is packed in the United 

 States today. As the demand for fish increased, canners who had used 

 only albacore at first began processing yellowfin, skipjack, and later 

 bluefin. This in turn widened the search for tuna, forcing the fleet to 

 fish even further south. In 1922 nearly 4000 tons were caught off Latin 

 America, and in 1927 catches from this area exceeded those from United 

 States waters for the first time. Eventually as fish were sought off Central 

 America, and even further from the home ports, average trips had grown 

 to as much as two to three months' duration. The changing nature of 

 the operation led to larger, better equipped, and better insulated vessels, 

 but nevertheless the amount of spoilage mounted. It was estimated that 

 in 1935 about 5 per cent of the total catch was lost to the industry through 

 spoilage^^. 



As a result of the growing concern about the situation, work was 

 carried out by the George Williams Hooper Foundation in San Francisco 



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