World Tuna Day

​I turn the page on my calendar and discover that today is World Tuna Day.

A sometimes lapsed Catholic, I wonder if this might be a new Holy Day of Obligation. For the non-Catholics out there, a Holy Day of Obligation is a day on which Catholics are expected to attend Mass and refrain from work and other activities that might interfere with their worship of God.

I consider attending Mass, but that sounds like work to me, and I am too late anyway.  I will add this latest lapse to my growing list of sins to be reported the next time I seek confession which is a Sacrament, another type of obligation, but not one that takes up an entire day, unless you are a child of Satan and have a lot to report.

With my curiosity aroused, I turn to the Tree of Knowledge to fish for some answers.

According to the information posted on www.un.org, in 2016 the United Nations passed a resolution making May 2nd World Tuna Day in order to spread the word about the dangerous situation faced by this important fish.  Apparently, the future of tuna is threatened by overwhelming demand and unsustainable fishing practices.  Overfishing has endangered the species and the delicate ecosystem of the ocean’s food chain.  Overfishing also threatens to impact the livelihoods of people all over the world, and the United Nations is taking measures to safeguard the value of tuna stocks—the Wall Street version, not the stack of cans in a good Catholic’s pantry.

Sailing around the internet, I learn that there are seven commercial species of tuna fished from four different oceans.  All my life, I thought Charlie the Tuna was the only one.  As of 2018, the tuna industry was worth about forty billion dollars, and that does not include the tuna fishing gear industry. 

I am more than a little surprised that with all that is at stake the United Nations waited until after Lent to bring this up.  Let’s face it, observant Catholics are complicit in this developing tragedy.  Before Charlie the Tuna, Jesus was a pretty well-known spokesperson. Jesus was really into fishing.  Some of his apostles were actual fishermen before Jesus made them fishers of men.  Jesus was also known for his famous loaves and fishes routine.  I am pretty sure that was when the tuna fish sandwich became popular on the Catholic menu.

By the 1950s, the decade in which I was born, tuna noodle casserole was a mainstay of the American Catholic’s diet on Friday nights and all throughout the season of Lent.  It was cheap to make, the ingredients were easy to find and non-perishable to boot. The meal was easy to prepare and provided leftovers.  It was also popular at church potlucks and a nice gesture of comfort in times of tragedy.

I think we all have something to confess here.

But the Church is good at granting dispensations-- an act for which a lawful superior grants relaxation from an existing law in a particular case.  You might need that if you find yourself craving tuna noodle casserole given the plight of the tuna.  You might want to shoot for Eat What You Want Day which is coming up on May 11th. Eat What You Want Day is a day to eat whatever you want without fretting over fats or fishing.  A day without guilt.  I’m pretty sure that can’t be a Catholic Church holiday.

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