Greener Living

Why Patagonia Had to Swap Out Its Cult-Hit Tinned Mackerel

Canned fish has one of the smallest carbon footprints among animal proteins — but sourcing it is getting harder with climate change.

Patagonia Provisions smoked jack mackerel.

Source: Amy Kumler & Patagonia Provisions

Fished from abundant, well-managed stock off the coast of Spain and France, Patagonia’s canned Atlantic mackerel was once the epitome of sustainability.

But the species became overfished, so the company had to track down a new source. After a months-long mackerel absence, it’s now selling a different species found in South Pacific waters off Chile, where stocks have bounced back.