Skipjack tuna commercial tunas, and its population is considered sustainable against its current consumption. Its fishing is still controversial due to the methodology, with rod and reel or fishery options being promoted as ecologically preferable. Purse seine methods are considered unsustainable by some authorities due to excess bycatch, although bycatch is said to be much reduced if fish aggregation devices are not used. These considerations have led to the availability of canned skipjack marked with the fishing method used to catch it. Skipjack is considered to have "moderate" mercury contamination. As a result, pregnant women are advised against eating large quantities. In
Skipjack shad they are nearly extirpated, fish passage features such as ladders or lifts will be required on Mississippi River lock and dams." In Minnesota, the construction of a fish passage facility is being considered at U.S. Lock and Dam 3 near Red Wing and could help skipjack shad migration in the Mississippi River drainage. The Minnesota DNR Division of Ecological Services received a State Wildlife Grant to conduct surveys for rare fish species in the Mississippi River from the Twin Cities to the Iowa border. These surveys were conducted from 2006 to 2008, and while the skipjack shad was a targeted