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Sounds good. Here in Japan I am able to buy RainCoast Trading Albacore, which is also pole and line caught. Worth the price.

I enjoy daikon radish sprouts on my sandwiches which adds a nice snappy flavor without overpowering the fish.

I just love tuna fish sandwiches! It's the one part of my white heritage I will never abandon, as I become increasingly hip, ethnic and anti-imperialistic. :-) Sorry about your low resistance to germs.

In California, the state health department has issued guidelines concerning how much canned tuna a consumer can eat — dependent on age, etc.

Due to the mercury* content of Tuna (coal-fired powered plants the world over) California says that pregnant women should not eat it at all. I'm 39, and if I remember correctly it stated that I should not have more than ONE can per week.

*Something else to think about other than freshness.

Well, Ghawier, there is canned tuna and then there is canned tuna.

The kinds George and I eat, as well as some other brands, are troll caught off the shores of the Pacific Northwest. Troll fishing catches the fish near the surface and because of that the fish are young (2-5 years) which means they have not lived long enough to accumulate high levels of mercury — in fact, they often contain only trace amounts. In addition, they are caught in colder regions and contain more fat (read Omega-3 fatty acids). If you look at a can of Albacore and it says 1 gram of fat, it is probably a long line caught fish and may contain more mercury. If it says 5 grams of fat, it is a troll caught fish, which is what we want to look for. There are other factors as well, such as selenium content.

The companies that do this are small, family owned businesses on the US West Coast who care about sustainability and health issues. Of course, it costs a lot more than mass market brands which use nets and catch larger, older fish which contain much higher levels of mercury. (Sushi comes from the biggest tuna and has high mercury content by the way.)

In addition to George's favorite Albacore — American Tuna, and mine — RainCoast Trading, the other brands I know of that fall into this category are: Mary Lu Seafoods, Shamrock Albacore, Ilwaco Fish Company, Island Trollers, Papa George Gourmet Albacore, New Day Fisheries, Inc., Carvalho Fisheries Inc., Wild Pacific Seafood and Wild Planet. I'm sure there are more.

These businesses are all members of the Western Fishboat Owners Association which has an excellent website here: www.wfoa-tuna.org/ with an interesting health section.

I have no connection to the tuna industry other than that of consumer. This comment is just meant to offer some information which may be helpful to people concerned about the healthfulness and sustainability of what they eat.

8isis8,

Thanks for that info.