The purse seining method was developed by San Diego fishermen in the 1950s as a reaction to what Felando described as the "dumping" of low-cost tuna onto the U.S. market by Japanese fishermen in an attempt to drive the U.S. fleet from the seas. The huge purse seiners not only dramatically increased the size of each boat's catch, but the fishing technique relieved boat operators from the time and expense of catching and maintaining live-bait fish on board.
The highly productive Eastern Pacific fishing ground, a triangular area that stretches from San Diego to Chile to Hawaii, increasingly has been fished by tuna boat association members in preference to areas closer to shore partially in response to foreign seizures of U.S. tuna boats. Most of the seizures took place after the boats intruded in what the governments held were territorial waters.
