Hooked on Tuna

Tuna occupy an unusually prominent place in human food history: they range from inexpensive canned protein to luxury sashimi, with bluefin sometimes selling for millions of dollars. Today, people harvest millions of tons annually, sustaining a global industry worth about US$40 billion. But the relationship between people and tuna extends far beyond modern markets. Humans have harvested these powerful ocean predators for at least 44,000 years, making tuna a lens for understanding how communities have relied on marine resources across very different eras.

To investigate that long history, biologist Emma Elliott Smith and archaeologist Torben Rick brought together 18 researchers and examined evidence from multiple fields. Their sources include tuna bones preserved at archaeological sites, ancient rock art, images on frescoes and vases, historical documents, and ethnographic accounts. The approach connects physical traces of fishing and consumption with records of how people represented and understood tuna. The material presented frames the project as a study of long-term human-environment relationships, placing today’s large-scale industry in a much deeper context. It emphasizes that tuna are not merely a familiar food product: their history reflects changing patterns of harvesting, culture, and dependence on the ocean.