Once endangered, Pacific bluefin tuna rebounds as a sustainable choice in Santa Cruz County

Late-morning fog crept through Santa Cruz Harbor as Hans Haveman, co-owner of H&H Fresh Fish Co., explained the differences between three cuts of Pacific bluefin tuna resting in front of him on a stainless steel table: lean, ruby-colored loin, or akimi; fatty chutoro, with marbling reminiscent of kobe beef; and the otoro tuna belly, covered in a milky fat cap.  

Each cut can be prepared differently, said Haveman. The silky akimi and buttery chutoro make incredible sashimi and sushi, while he prefers to sear the otoro, which renders and caramelizes the belly fat. “It’s just like pork belly,” he said, his palms glistening with oil rendered from the fish just by the heat in his hands. 

Pacific bluefin are occasionally seen in the temperate waters off the coast of Southern California, where they can be fished commercially and for sport year-round. But three years ago, local fishers began bringing them to H&H, a sustainable fish market in the harbor that prioritizes locally caught seafood. In his 45 years in the fishing industry, Haveman had seen them as far north as Monterey Bay only one time, in the late 1990s.

“All of a sudden, boom, I had this fish in,” he said. 

Despite a previous endangered status, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) now lists pole-and-line-caught Pacific bluefin as a sustainable choice, so Haveman began offering loin and belly cuts in his shop. Over the past three years, he has expanded his bluefin products after teaching himself how to butcher the enormous fish, which typically weigh around 200 pounds and require two people to lift them onto the table. “It’s like butchering a pig,” he said. 

For 30 years, bluefin tuna were the poster child for overfishing. But due to successful international conservation efforts, the species is bouncing back, and the effects are being seen locally. Once rarely seen outside of Southern California, Pacific bluefin tuna are migrating annually off the Central Coast in the Monterey Bay area. Santa Cruz County fish markets and chefs are beginning to offer this treasured fish on menus and in retail markets, under the blessing and watchful eye of environmental groups and government agencies.

Santa Cruz-based Ocean2Table, a distributor for sustainably sourced seafood, meats, produce and foraged products, began supplying California-landed hook-and-line-caught Pacific bluefin tuna to its restaurant clients earlier this year. Although owner Ian Cole has seen the fish come into the harbor for a few years, he chose to wait until further research on its comeback was released by NOAA Fisheries, a federal agency within the NOAA, before adding it to his product list. 

“It was a fish we’d strictly stayed away from, even when we saw it come into port. We were avoiding it, waiting for the science to reflect what the fisherman were seeing. And that happened,” Cole said.

Prized for their flavor and size – some can weigh over 900 pounds – bluefin numbers began dwindling in the 1990s, and sank to a historical low in 2010 when stock dropped to just 2% of pre-fishing numbers, prompting an international effort by conservation groups to save bluefin from the brink of extinction.

The success exceeded expectations. In 2011, the goal was to rebuild the spawning stock biomass of Pacific bluefin to 20% by 2034. In June, the NOAA announced that it met that target a decade ahead of schedule. By 2022, the stock had grown to 23%. 

Fishers off the coast of California began to see the proof for themselves when schools of bluefin began reaching farther and farther north. For years, the warm water-loving fish rarely traveled beyond the waters off Southern California, but since 2021 it’s been seen annually in the early fall near Monterey Bay and as far north as Bodega Bay. 

Does this victory mean it’s OK to start eating bluefin again? Yes, under certain circumstances, according to science-based agencies. 

Although the current population is below target levels, the NOAA considers hook-and-line-caught Pacific bluefin tuna to be a sustainable choice. As long as each fish is caught individually by hand with a pole, there is little to no bycatch and no damage to the sea floor. “There is a point where you can find a balance between abundant harvest while also allowing the stock to grow in perpetuity, and we’ve now exceeded that point,” said Celia Barroso, a fishery policy analyst at the NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region, in a story published in June by the organization.  

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program is more cautious, but also approves consuming specific types of Pacific bluefin. On Monday, for the first time in 25 years, the nonprofit updated its rating of Pacific bluefin caught in the U.S. with handlines and hand-operated pole-and-lines from red, which means “avoid,” to yellow, which means “good alternative.” (It rates what it deems sustainable choices as green, or “best choice.”) 

“The yellow rating is proof that a collaborative, science-based approach to fisheries management works. After decades of research and work to recover this iconic species, we’re encouraged to see Pacific bluefin tuna making a comeback, but they’re not out of the woods yet,” Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly, aquarium vice president of global ocean conservation, said in a media release. 

Despite the go-ahead from fishing agencies, Cole at Ocean2Table still believes customers should avoid most bluefin tuna that they see on the market unless they’re purchasing it from well-documented, short supply chains, meaning as few people between the person who caught the fish and the person who eats it as possible. On the shelf, sustainably sourced bluefin is indistinguishable from bluefin caught by other methods, he said. 

“It’s all about knowing who caught the fish and asking the question. It’s not easy,” he said. “Educate yourself on the marketplace. If you see a price that’s way lower, that’s a red flag. If you ask your fishmonger and they aren’t confident or don’t readily have that info, that’s a red flag. Buying direct from the fisherman is really hard. It comes down to cultivating a relationship with your local fishmonger or restaurants where you know they care about these things.” 

This week, Ocean2Table will begin offering bluefin to its retail customers, too. 

“It’s one of the most highly valued fish species out there, which drove their decline, the overwhelming demand for them. There’s a reason for that. It’s so delicious and there are so many ways to prepare it. Sushi-grade raw fish and tuna belly are hard to compare to anything else,” Cole said.

Bluefin’s return to the Central Coast is a much-needed win for Santa Cruz County’s fishing industry, which has struggled after years of heavy restrictions on its two most lucrative catches, salmon and Dungeness crab. Some former crab and salmon fishers Haveman works with who own smaller, faster boats have set their sights on the speedy bluefin. Asked if he thinks bluefin will replace crab and salmon for the local fishing industry, Haveman replied: “No, it doesn’t replace crab or salmon. Not by a long shot. But in an industry in such a dire situation, anything at this stage helps.”

“It’s helping the whole fishing industry stay afloat, and making sure retailers like us have something to sell,” said Haveman. 

He buys two to three California-caught bluefin, totaling about 500 pounds, every week. In late September, when the first big bite of bluefin swept through the Santa Cruz area, he bought 3,000 pounds. Each whole fish is butchered on site, and every part is used: The backbones are scraped for poke, the huge 2- to 4-pound collars are sold for grilling or roasting, and he’s experimenting with selling the riblets like lamb chops. 

The biggest challenge, he said, is educating his customers on when and how to sustainably eat this once-forbidden fish. With more environmental agencies giving the OK, it’s getting easier. Said Haveman: “A lot of my customers have never had it before.”

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FOR THE RECORD: This story has been updated with Hans Haveman clarifying his thoughts on the impact of Pacific bluefin tuna on the local salmon and Dungeness crab fishing industries.

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