ScienceNot yet confirmed elsewhere1 publisher2 min readPublished
Review of bones, art and records dates the oldest definitive tuna fishing to 44,000 years ago
Humans were catching tuna in East Timor about 44,000 years ago, the oldest definitive evidence in a review drawing on 18 researchers. The authors set it beside a global industry worth around US$40 billion a year, using bones, art and written accounts.
The Scientist · Science desk
Mediterranean: a commercial Atlantic bluefin fishery had formed by 3,000 years ago. Japan and Korea: ancient fishers captured tunas beginning at least 7,000 years ago. North America's northwest coast: Indigenous people had a Pacific bluefin fishery for over 5,000 years.
| Figure | Value | Note | Claim |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediterranean commercial bluefin fishery had formed by | 3,000 years ago | 8 | |
| Japan and Korea tuna captures began, at least | 7,000 years ago | by ancient fishers | 13 |
| Northwest coast Pacific bluefin fishery ran for over | 5,000 years | run by Indigenous people | 10 |
What happened
- The authors combined tuna bones from archaeological sites with rock art, paintings on frescos and vases, written records and Indigenous ethnographic accounts.
- Ancient fishers in Japan and Korea were catching tuna at least 7,000 years ago, according to the authors.
- By 3,000 years ago a commercial Atlantic bluefin fishery had formed in the Mediterranean, with large-scale trade and specialized nets and traps.
- On North America's northwest coast, Indigenous people ran an important and complex Pacific bluefin fishery for over 5,000 years, particularly in Nuu-chah-nulth territory.
Why it matters
- constraint For Mediterranean bluefin, a 1950 benchmark measures a population that millennia of commercial netting and trapping may already have changed.
- capability Each region has its own start date and its own gear, so a long baseline would have to be built region by region.
- decision Anyone quoting the 44,000-year figure has to decide what it is evidence of. It supports the date of the earliest definitive find, and the only tonnage in the account is for the Mediterranean.
The 44,000-year date comes from one place. The East Timor remains are of what were likely skipjack tuna [1], and the authors say deepwater channels probably brought tunas close to shore there [5]. They call the case somewhat unusual, because in most areas the evidence for tuna fishing is 10,000 years old or younger [5].
Other early dates in the account sit well after Timor. Bones at a Neanderthal site in Gibraltar, around 26,000 years old, may reflect scavenging, according to the authors [6]. The Kiladha Bay deposit in Greece, 9,000 to 11,000 years old [7], falls 33,000 to 35,000 years after Timor [15].
The authors, a biologist and an archaeologist writing in The Conversation [12], say most scientific research has covered the past 75 years [4]. That window is about 0.17% of 44,000 years [14]. Their stated aim was to show how past harvests compare with the millions of tons caught today [11].
The one historical tonnage they give is for the Mediterranean, where in the 16th and 17th centuries people may have caught tens of thousands of tons a year of Atlantic bluefin [9]. That is one species in one sea. The modern figure of millions of tons covers tuna harvested everywhere [16]. The thing this doesn't tell you is how the 16th-century Mediterranean catch compares with today's catch of Atlantic bluefin alone.
In our view the record is strong evidence of when and how people fished tuna, and a weaker guide to how many tuna there were. A tally of bones from one cave reflects human use of that cave. We would revise that for any region where the authors pair bones with written catch records.
What to watch
- Catch estimates for ancient fisheries outside the Mediterranean, which would allow a direct comparison with today's harvest.
- Whether tuna stock assessments move their 1950 benchmark earlier for stocks with a long commercial history.
- Further definitive tuna finds in other regions that test whether East Timor is an outlier.
Clarity's read
What the record supports and how the coverage leans. The claims behind it follow.
Reality
- Evidence55
- Adoption
- Insufficient
- Hype gap0
- Incentives
- Insufficient
- Confidence55
Claim ledger
Ranked by verification strength, evidence, and original report placement.
- [1]
The oldest definitive evidence of tuna fishing, skeletal remains of what were likely skipjack tuna, comes from East Timor in southeast Asia about 44,000 years ago.
ReportedSupportedSource: Authors (a biologist and an archaeologist), The ConversationView cited source - [2]
The authors drew on the expertise of 18 leading researchers worldwide.
- [3]
The sources studied included skeletal remains of tunas in archaeological sites, ancient rock art, paintings on frescos and vases, written historical records and ethnographic accounts from Indigenous communities.
- [4]
Most scientific research on tuna has focused on the past 75 years, with assessments of the health of tuna populations benchmarked against the year 1950.
- [5]
The East Timor find, likely aided by deepwater channels that brought tunas close to shore, is somewhat unusual: most areas of the world do not contain evidence of tuna fishing until 10,000 years ago or more recently.
- [6]
A few ancient tuna bones found in a Neanderthal site in Gibraltar dating to around 26,000 years ago may have been obtained by Neanderthals scavenging.
- [7]
By 9,000 to 11,000 years ago, thousands of tuna bones were deposited in a cave overlooking Kiladha Bay in Greece.
- [8]
By 3,000 years ago, a commercial Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery had formed in the Mediterranean, with large-scale trade and specialized nets and traps.
- [9]
By the 16th and 17th centuries, people may have caught tens of thousands of tons of Atlantic bluefin annually in the Mediterranean fishery.
- [10]
For over 5,000 years, Indigenous people on North America's northwest coast, particularly in Nuu-chah-nulth territory, had an important and complex fishery for Pacific bluefin tuna.
- [11]
The authors say the work provided new insights into how past harvests compare with the millions of tons caught today.
- [12]
The article is written by a biologist and an archaeologist interested in long-term human-environment interactions, in The Conversation.
- [13]
Ancient fishers in Japan and Korea captured tunas beginning at least 7,000 years ago.
- [14]
The 75-year research window is about 0.17% of the 44,000-year record.
- [15]
The Kiladha Bay deposit (9,000 to 11,000 years old) is 33,000 to 35,000 years younger than the East Timor remains (about 44,000 years old).
- [16]
Millions of tons of tuna are harvested every year, supporting a global industry worth around US$40 billion annually.
Sources
1 independent publisher whose own reporting we read for this story.
- theconversation.comHooked on tuna: People have been harvesting these ocean predators for 44,000 years
1 article · October 12, 2026
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