Page 17 - KATE_JOHNSTON_2017

Throughout this thesis I further the academic and public discussions of food

provenance by examining how sustainable seafood politics render certain ecological, socio-

cultural dimensions visible and knowable, and sideline others. Vandergeest et al. (2015)

emphasise that certification involves assembling sustainable territories through space,

subjects, objects and expertise. Not only does certification involve shaping these elements but

along with other sustainability devices, such as seafood guides, it involves defining the term

and terms of sustainability by rendering specific elements visible and knowable. Often this

results in zeroing in on those elements deemed as important, rather than simply revealing an

entire complicated global food network. Mostly ecological conditions of a fishery are brought

to light. However, surely there are other ethical considerations, such as the numerous

locations of production, socio-cultural conditions and the other ingredients in a tin of tuna.

What about the production of the tin? Or the food miles the product adds up on its global

circulation through production, trade and consumption? What about the labour conditions of

workers along the chain? And what forms of life and ways of knowing do sustainability

practices bring to the communities involved in the production and trade of sustainable

certified tuna? There are always ecological, socio-cultural and economic dimensions not

rendered visible. Skipjack tuna offers an opportunity to add to the discussion of food

provenance central to contemporary food politics, by inquiring into the process of rendering

visible and rendering sustainable.

Atlantic bluefin tuna is a different beast all together. Its physiology is described by

National Geography as ‘one of the largest, fastest, and most gorgeously colored of all the

world’s fishes. Their torpedo-shaped, streamlined bodies are built for speed and endurance’

(National Geography 2016, para. 1). A single fish can grow to over two metres in length and

weigh over 250 kilograms. With a lifespan of around 40 years it is a long-lived species. Its

wide geographical distribution means that for millennia bluefin has been drawn into the lives

5