8
$\begingroup$

Yesterday my grandmother ate fresh tuna at a friend's party. She swears it was fresh and bought at a local fishmonger. The problem is, that we live in Gdańsk, by the south-eastern side of the Baltic sea and I have never heard of tuna in the Baltic. I told her that the fish couldn't have been local and therefore couldn't have been fresh but frozen and thawed. But the thought still bothers me, maybe tuna fish can reach the Baltic?

I did search a bit and found that tuna may be sometimes found in the Northern sea, so maybe it actually can travel so far east as to reach the Baltic? But the water in the Baltic is hardly saltwater (6-8‰), so would it be able to survive?

Improve this question
$\endgroup$

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1
$\begingroup$

Indeed tuna are present in the Baltic sea, and they can also grow in the Pacific and Indian oceans. A lot of the tuna we see in tuna cans in supermarkets comes from the stocks in the Indian ocean, but it is possible to have fresh tuna from the Baltic.

Sorry, I only found a French answer from a famous French news paper: http://sante.lefigaro.fr/mieux-etre/nutrition-aliments/thon/dou-vient-thon

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
2
  • $\begingroup$ I know some french, so it's not a big problem. The problem is, that Le Figaro is quite far in the Science News Cycle (phdcomics.com/comics/archive.php?comicid=1174#), so if it's the only link you can find, is very weak. I searched on ncbi and found nothing on tuna living in the Baltic sea, but I don't know how broad is their database - generally I used it when I was a biotechnology student plus for some medical research for my family - not much of ichtiology. $\endgroup$
    – jkadlubowska
    Commented Nov 5, 2012 at 11:55
  • 1
    $\begingroup$ @jkadlubowska there are no landings of tuna in the Baltic. Your research is correct. $\endgroup$
    – Kara
    Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 0:16
1
$\begingroup$

There's a newly established Atlantic Bluefin Tuna fishery in Norway, and some bluefin landings as far North as off Greenland, so it's not completely beyond the pale to think there might be some very few that stumble into the Baltic Sea, especially with climate change-- but definitely not enough for a commercial fishery.

Improve this answer
$\endgroup$
4
  • $\begingroup$ A good answer except for the fact that Fish that is shipped all over the world is frozen and never fresh, whatever your local fish shops tells you. Most fish is already frozen on board $\endgroup$
    – RHA
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:27
  • $\begingroup$ I agree with you, @RHA , but I know you can get fish shipped on (dry) ice. I work in a lab that does research on tuna, and we have gotten fresh specimens before from off-shore Hawaii. (We're in MA). -- But it certainly costs more $$$$. I can't imagine getting bluefin fresh. $\endgroup$
    – Kara
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:40
  • $\begingroup$ The big commercial fish trawlers are at sea for weeks at least. Then they return to the harbour and only then.the fish is shipped. This means that fresh fish is weeks old. I wouldn't call that fresh. The fish caught at the last few days is often kept and sold seperately to restaurants etc. $\endgroup$
    – RHA
    Commented Apr 12, 2017 at 19:51
  • $\begingroup$ @RHA fair enough! I got rid of that part. $\endgroup$
    – Kara
    Commented Apr 13, 2017 at 0:11

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .