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CONCLUSION

Now ends my following of a fish called tuna. In this thesis tuna has guided us through the

material, discursive and political dimensions of sustainability – over the contours of power

and into the nooks and crannies of diverse geographic locations, from a southern Italian

tonnara to a tin mine in Indonesia. Along the way we have considered the multiple

dimensions of environmental conflicts and the productive capacity of sustainability. Let us

make two final stops to demonstrate the contemporary significance of my argument that

sustainability always involves sustaining more than fish.

Our first stop is the Mediterranean Sea in April 2016 for the lead up to the migration

of Atlantic bluefin tuna. For the first time in eight years and under the guidance of newly

appointed rais Salvatorre Spataro, tonnarotti have set up the nets off the coast of Favignana.

With a license but no quota, the activities this year were theatrical rather than real (Bruno

2016, para. 5). Nonetheless, the event signalled the potential return of the tonnara

affectionately known as the Queen of the Sea. Stefano Donati (dir. marine protected area)

optimistically stated that soon we could have a MPA brand tuna on our tables, caught in

Favignana in a way that complies with environmental and socio-economic sustainability (in

Montagnoli 2016, para. 4). As Atlantic bluefin moves away from the ‘edge of extinction’

(van Dooren 2014) and as it recovers from overfishing, events such as this offer some hope.

But they also raise questions about what kind of entity and socio-cultural and technological

configuration the tonnare will become. How will cultural and ecological aspects of the

tonnara and its sustainability be reconciled?

Our second stop takes us to the other side of the world to Australia. In February 2016

John West made a monumental commitment to put 100 million cans a year of sustainably

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