It's a straight shot down from San Diego harbor to the sea-lanes of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, home of the biggest, tastiest tuna. For many decades, visitors to downtown wharfs were greeted by the sight of the huge fishing boats with their nets spread out on the dock for mending. Although tuna fishing continues unabated and San Diego is still home to some fleet owners, administrators and canners, the boats are gone from our waters. The reasons for this exodus weave a complex web of international politics, public opinion and environmental protection.
Tuna like to race around at high speeds with dolphins - no one knows exactly why.
It's common to find dolphins, which must swim at or near the ocean surface to breathe, zooming around directly over a large school of tuna. While tuna swimming 200 feet below the surface can be difficult for fishermen to find, spotting a school of frolicking dolphins is relatively easy. In the fisheries of the Eastern Tropical Pacific, this meant killing lots of dolphins and a long list of other species. The bycatch is just waste, a by-product of doing business, and generally dumped over the side. When the kids of America found out that eating tuna meant killing Flipper, they flipped.