The California Tuna Fishery 



The failure of the run of pilchards (sardines) in the San Pedro area 

 in 1903 was primarily responsible for development of tuna cemning. Albert 

 P. Halfhill, who is recognized as the "father of the industry" had been 

 engaged in packing sardines at San Pedro since the early nineties. In 

 1903, the sardines failed to appear and a crisis confronted both the fishermen 

 and canners. In an effort to keep his plsmt operating, Mr. Halfhill began 

 canning other Csdifornia fishes such as rock cod, jewfish, halibut sind 

 albacore. In an attempt to pack an attractive product, a redwood steam 

 box was constructed in which the fish could be steamed. It was found that 

 this process changed the red flesh of the albacore to a creamy white and 

 improved the flavor. Since the steaming process removed the oil from the 

 fish a quantity of vegetable oil was added to each can to bring out the flavor 

 and improve the appearance of the pack. 



In 1903, an experimental pack of 700 cases was canned and distributed 

 to eastern and Los Angeles wholesalers. Despite the usual initial difficulties 

 in marketing a new product and the necessity of overcoming consumer resistance 

 to a canned fish having a much different appearance than that of the well 

 established canned salmon, repeat orders began to be received and. , somewhat 

 larger quantities of the fish were canned in the following three ysars^ 



By 1907, -che industry began to move out of the experimentail stage, 

 and a few years later a trade publication reported that in 191^ a totsd of 

 eleven canneries bad packed a total of 217,000 cases of tuna. While definite 

 proof is lacking, an inspector for the Food and Drug Administration at Los 

 Angeles states in a letter to the Fish and Wildlife Service, dated 

 Jemiiary 13, 1953, tliat "it seems quite likely that the first packs were 

 packed salmon stylo; that is, the raw fish plus salt was placed in the 

 cans which were then sealed and processed with heat*" Since this method 

 is not suited to the canning of tuna, the packs would not have sold well. 



When the canning of tuna was first begun in southern California, 

 albacore was the only species packed. They were plentiful between Pc5.nt 

 Conception and the Mexican border and three or four fishermen operating 

 a i40-foot boat co\il.d take fiill loads within fifty miles of San Pedro or 

 San Diego. Within a few years, it was found that the runs of albacore 

 were erratic aM packers occasionally required more fish than were 

 available. By 1915, canners were beginning to pack skipjack, yellowfin, 

 and bonito, and in the following year, the canning of bluefin was reported. 



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