Fresh and Frozen Tuna 



Consumption of fresh and frozen tuna seems to be increasing somevdiat. 

 In recait years j fresh tuna has been marketed along the northern Atlantic 

 seaboard during the season in which turn v;as being caught in waters off 

 New Jersey, New York, and New England, There is also sane marketing of 

 frozen tuna out of season. The tuna marketed at retail seems to have been 

 chiefly bluefin and little tuna and one species seems to have substituted 

 for the other, according to whidi was being cau^t most in the area or in 

 the particular year or portion of the season. The danand seens to have 

 ccme largely from consumers vrtiose family or national background included 

 a practice of using fresh tuna. Such consumers are largely from Mediter- 

 ranean or Iberian countries or have their family origins in these areas. 

 However, inquiries in New England indicated that others also cons^lraed fresh 

 and frozen tuna. One field investigator believed ttet fresh and frozen 

 tuna "offer good prospects for market exploitation" in New England and 

 New York City, 



This trade in fresh and frozen tuna in the northeast has been so 

 small that it has received little attention and would be difficult to 

 measure. It is believed, however, that the volume has increased somewhat 

 and that it could be fUrther increased if the flew of supplies were more 

 regular and if the species was designated so that variability in the char- 

 acter of the meat could be explained and allowed for in preparation for 

 eating. Information on methods of cooking and canning such as that dis- 

 tribated by a California fishermoi's union could be made available. With 

 these aids, if promotion were xindertaken, the use of fresh and frozen tuna 

 might be increased considerably. However, it seems unlikely that such a 

 promotion will occur. It does seem probable, nevertheless, that this trade 

 will, increase somewb.at since tuna are now being landed and sold. Formerly 

 th^ ware not cau^tj or vdien cau^t were discarded, used as bait, or on 

 occasion sold to redu:;tion plants. As far as is known, tuna is not found 

 in frozen form very generally in retail markets in the northeast, so that 

 the season of widespread availability is short. It seems unlikely that 

 serious attempts will be made in the near future to make frozen tuna gener- 

 ally available for an extended season. 



On the west coast, the potentialities for the consumption of tuna in 

 fresh form were indicated in the experimental distribution undertaken by a 

 California fishermen's union in 1951o This occurred during an anergency 

 period of declining prices for canning albacore, when the union was resist- 

 ing the canner's reduction in the price of raw stock. These operations 

 were conducted in central and southern California, starting in San Francisco, 



I 



102 



I 



