Terrifying Tuna Mascots Give a Little Insight Into Fish Industry Problems

Aug 18, 2011 at 9:00 am

Remember back in the 1980s, when people got worked up because tuna fishing was killing dolphins? The industry eventually changed, and consumers could return to their Starkist and Chicken of the Sea assured that the only thing that died for their tuna salad was the tuna.

Ah, but apparently all is not so clean and tidy in the canned tuna industry. Greenpeace has released a video featuring the creepiest tuna spokescritters ever to bring attention to "fish aggregating devices". Instead of dragging the sea and snagging everything in their paths, the "FADs" float in the water and attract tuna ... and everything else, creating their own ecosystems which are destroyed when the tuna's harvested.

Sure, it's just as bad as the dolphin-killing nets of yesteryear, but is that a message that's conveyed in the video? It seems more like a cry for help for animated commercial mascots. Does Amnesty International have a campaign for them?