Granger causality between the canning sector and the Spanish tuna fleet: Evidence from the Toda-Yamamoto approach

In this paper, we provide an overview of the Spanish fish processing sector in general, and, specifically looking at canned tuna. We study the evolution of the Spanish freezer tuna fleet, shipowning companies and joint ventures in third countries, and the fleet interaction with the canned tuna processing sector. The evolution of canned tuna industry and its market in Spain over time are described and important variables such as production, consumption, imports and exports of canned tuna are presented. The policy measures related to the development of the Spanish tuna industry and the freezer tuna fishing fleet are presented. In spite of the globalisation process, this industry is still one of the most important worldwide and has survived unlike all European countries. Interesting findings are shown about the situation of the sector using several statistics and econometrics techniques to obtain a graph which allow us to understand the interrelationships between its main variables in depth. In conclusion, the canning industry with its production, foreign trade and domestic consumption play a key role in explaining the dynamics of the sector and the high demand of canned tuna causes the expansion of the fleet.