# Why is tuna the most prevalent canned fish? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 6, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750 "2004-05-06T00:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/1 "2004-05-06T00:40:25Z")
Of all the kinds of fish in the ocean why, at least in the US, is the overwhelmingly most common type tuna? And why are there only a handful of others, mainly “finger” fish like sardines and anchovies? ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/2 "2004-05-06T01:40:26Z")
In the Pacific Northwest, canned Salmon used to be so cheap that a major use for it was cat food. Not anymore. Overfishing, not economical to fish in large numbers, doesn’t can well, too oily for most people, too bony, whatever. One by one you rule out other species. Some species ended up number 1. Happens to be tuna. Aren’t they lucky? ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/3 "2004-05-06T01:45:21Z")
No, but they sure are delicious! ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/4 "2004-05-06T02:10:05Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Of all the kinds of fish in the ocean why, at least in the US, is the overwhelmingly most common type tuna? It was not always this way: [A Brief History of Fish Processing in California and Oregon (PDF)](http://oregonstate.edu/dept/IIFET/2000/papers/grader.pdf) > [@](#): > > In 1864 William Hume opened, with some partners, the first salmon cannery on the west coast at Broderick, across the river from Sacramento. The salmon cannery had difficulties since fresh salmon could be readily had by San Franciscans but a market was soon found for the canned fish in Australia. In 1867, Hume moved his operation to the Columbia River. There were later salmon canning operations on the Sacramento, as well as at Requa on the Klamath River. The biggest canning operations, however, in the lower 48 were on the Columbia, and full-scale canning operations for salmon and albacore remaining on the Columbia through the 1960s. > > … > > Tuna canning started around 1909, when a sardine canning firm started experimentally packing albacore. By 1914 production had reached 400,000 cases. Albacore were initially used because they were found close to shore, but as vessels were able to travel further yellowfin and skipjack tunas were also packed. **The large-scale promotion programs in the 1950s of canned tuna helped to make it a staple in the American diet**. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/5 "2004-05-06T02:17:35Z")
That explains it for America - but Europe? (and FWIW, it seems that most canned tuna available here comes from western Africa) ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2004, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-is-tuna-the-most-prevalent-canned-fish/243750/6 "2004-05-06T03:08:00Z")
In Australia canned salmon is as ubiquitous as canned tuna. Every little corner store will have both and every sandwich shop will use both.