A School of Local Fish on the School Lunch Menu

Abstract

School cafeterias in the Canary Islands use mainly seafood that is imported from far-away industrial fishing operations, even though there are several nearby fishing fleets. The nearby fleets fish for tuna the traditional way, catching them one by one off of mostly small-scale fishing boats, with the hook and line technique. These boats are eco-friendly, but they tend to export their tuna—several thousand tons each year—to mainland Spain or other countries. So, in 2018, we started a project to supply local tuna and other fish steaks to about a dozen Canary Islands school cafeterias, in an attempt to reduce fish exports and imports. This is good for the environment because it decreases the amount of fuel used to move food from place to place. We hope our work will not only help school kids to eat healthier, but also improve the eating habits and health of the entire local population.