A tinned fish renaissance

A tinned fish renaissance

From Outside/In by NHPR

June 10, 2026 · 39 min

About this episode

This episode explores the sustainability and environmental impact of sardine fishing amidst their rising popularity.

We launched a Patreon! Become an Outside/Insider for just $5 per month, and you can get AD-FREE episodes of the podcast, plus access to behind-the-scenes blog posts and more. Sardines are in vogue. Literally. They are in Vogue magazine. They’re delicious (subjectively), good for you, and sustainable… right? Recently, a listener called into the show asking about just that. “I've always had this sense that they're a more environmentally friendly fish, perhaps because of being low on the food chain. But I'm realizing I really have no sense of what it looks like to actually fish for sardines,” Jeannie told us. The Outside/In team got together to look beyond the sunny illustrations on the fish tins. Is there bycatch? What about emissions? Are sardines overfished? If we care about the health of the ocean, can we keep eating sardines? This episode was originally published in 2025. Featuring Jeannie Bartlett, Malin Pinsky, and Zach Koehn. Rip logo photo: Canned seafood by Jack Kennard (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0). Produced by Justine Paradis. For full credits and transcript, visit outsideinradio.org. SUPPORT Outside/In is made possible with listener support. Click here to join our Patreon and get…

People in this episode

Host: Outside/In

Guests: Jeannie Bartlett, Malin Pinsky, Zach Koehn

Topics covered

  • sardines
  • sustainability
  • fishing practices
  • environmental impact
  • food culture

Keywords

  • sardines
  • sustainability
  • fishing
  • environment
  • bycatch
  • ocean health
  • food chain

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Vogue, NHPR

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