With Sales Plummeting, Tuna Strikes Back

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August 19, 2005

With Sales Plummeting, Tuna Strikes Back

By MELANIE WARNER

FOR much of the last three decades, canned tuna fish has been America's favorite

seafood and a trusted staple of children's lunches. Those days, however, are

over.

As awareness has increased about the high levels of mercury in some kinds of

canned tuna fish, tuna has taken on an image problem. Some consumers are

shunning the product in favor of other kinds of fish or are avoiding fish

altogether. Now 21 percent of consumers say they are " extremely concerned " about

mercury in fish, up from 17 percent two years ago, according to the NPD Group

research firm.

As a result, industry sales are sagging. Since March 2004, when the federal

government issued a new advisory about seafood consumption and mercury, sales of

canned tuna in the United States swung from modest growth to a steady decline.

Sales are down 10 percent in the last year, causing a revenue loss of $150

million for the $1.5 billion industry, according to ACNielsen.

The joint Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency

advisory was the first time canned tuna fish was mentioned in such warnings.

Previously, the agencies has warned only about mercury in swordfish, king

mackerel, shark and tilefish.

Hoping to stem the decline and repair tuna's reputation, the industry is trying

to arrange a government program to oversee an advertising campaign promoting the

benefits of tuna. Called " Tuna - A Smart Catch, " the ad campaign would not

directly address the mercury issue, but instead would highlight the various

health benefits of tuna fish.

In one TV ad, moms proclaim that tuna has " way less fat than beef and pork, "

contains no carbs and is " good for us. "

But the ads, which have been created by Marriner Marketing in Columbia, Md.,

will not appear on TV screens any time soon. The tuna industry is waiting for

government approval of its ad program, to be administered by a group to be

called the American Council for Tuna. G. Burney, executive director of the

United States Tuna Foundation, which is overseeing the creation of the council,

says the industry already has the support of the National Marine Fisheries

Service, a division of the Department of Commerce, but is waiting for approval

from the Office of Management and Budget, which oversees all government

regulatory programs.

Stiker, an executive vice president at Bumble Bee, said he was hoping the

ad campaign would start next spring.

The American Council for Tuna follows in the footsteps of Department of

Agriculture " checkoff " programs that have financed the " Got Milk " campaign and

the " Beef. It's What's for Dinner " ads. Like these ad campaigns, the tuna

program will not receive any government funding and will be supported through a

fee imposed on all tuna producers.

Mr. Burney of the United States Tuna Foundation says he is hoping to raise $25

million in the first year, the majority of which will go toward advertising and

the rest to other marketing efforts, like payments to public relations agencies.

Contributing to the pot would be not only the three largest tuna companies -

Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist, which together account for roughly

85 percent of the tuna sold in the United States - but also dozens of small

family-owned companies that operate fishing boats, and import companies that

sell private-label tuna fish to supermarkets.

Mr. Stiker of Bumble Bee says he hopes the ads will reassure consumers that tuna

is a " wonder food. "

" It's got these great omega 3's that you really can't get in any other typical

lunch food, but we found that Americans just don't think of it as being very

contemporary, " Mr. Stiker said.

Mr. Stiker and Mr. Burney do not dispute that tuna is laced with mercury, which

is a known toxin, but they say that, despite government warnings, the levels are

still small enough that they do not pose a serious risk.

The F.D.A. and E.P.A. guidelines issued in March 2004 advised pregnant women,

women of childbearing age and young children not to consume more than six

ounces, or one can, of " chunk white " albacore tuna a week. For " chunk light "

tuna, which comes from the smaller skipjack fish and contains less mercury, the

recommended consumption limit is 12 ounces a week.

Mercury is of particular concern for fetuses because scientists believe that

mercury in the mother's body passes to the fetus and may accumulate there. Young

children are vulnerable because mercury can have a damaging effect on developing

brains. Scientists at the National Academy of Sciences have said that adults can

also be at risk if mercury levels are high enough. Symptoms of mercury toxicity

include kidney troubles, irritability, tremors, changes in vision or hearing,

and memory problems.

Mr. Burney says he is convinced that getting mercury toxicity from tuna is

impossible. While his wife was pregnant, he said, she consumed a can of albacore

tuna almost every day. Mr. Stiker says his three boys, 9-year-old triplets, eat

several cans of albacore a week.

Mr. Burney says that studies funded by the Tuna Foundation show mercury levels

in a variety of types of tuna have not increased in the last 30 years. " It takes

many, many years before mercury in the atmosphere reaches areas of the ocean

where it can enter the food chain, " Mr. Burney said.

Environmentalists believe that higher mercury levels in the atmosphere, much of

which come from the emissions of coal-powered electricity plants, work their way

into water sources and then into the food chain. Mr. Burney contends that

because tuna are deepwater ocean fish, it takes many years for atmospheric

mercury to find its way into their flesh.