What is the difference between supermarket and Vital Choice custom canned troll-caught Albacore Tuna?

To optimize the purity of Vital Choice albacore tuna, they purchase only from fishermen and boats they know, so they are aware how and where the fish are caught, processed and stored prior to their taking possession. In addition, they select only the smallest of the available troll-caught fish. Not only does hook-and-line harvest attract the "cleaner" surface-dwelling juvenile fish, but it is also more sustainable than alternative methods. In contrast, commercial grade tuna is generally "long-lined." This harvest method involves deploying a long submerged line with baited hooks, which tend to attract the larger, older fish having higher mercury levels. Long-lining is also less selective than trolling and results in greater by-catch of non targeted species. Most canned albacore found in supermarkets today comes from very large canneries using assembly-line techniques to process huge quantities of tuna at a time. What most people do not realize is that albacore tuna sold by the major bra ... more