Is it a sin to eat dolphin dangerous tuna on 3/25?

[newenglandsun]

So during the Great Fast, some of us go for strict fasting practices that say no fish but permit fish without a backbone (octopus and squid and kraken 🦑) and shellfish like shrimp, lobster, crawfish, and crab are okay (🦐 🦀 (lobster unpictured because shy)).

On a Feast Day as joyous as the Annunciation though (3/25) we are permitted to eat fish. Obviously, tuna is a fish. Many cans of tuna are labeled as "dolphin safe" to ensure the eater knows he is eating tuna only. But what if someone purchased a can of tuna without the label. Instead, maybe the label read, "dolphin dangerous" indicating an unfortunate dolphin , maybe from Miami, was ensnared and then grinded into the can like the tuna? Would that be sinful to eat or is dolphin considered a fish?

[jovan66102]

You know, I've never thought about it, but historically, in the West, several aquatic creature were considered 'not meat' and eaten during Lent, including beavers and frogs, the latter of which were called in France Alouettes de Carême (Lenten larks).

And alligator is definitely acceptable for Latins, at least in the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

Alligator OK to eat on Lenten Fridays, archbishop clarifies

[Jeeter]

Instead, maybe the label read, "dolphin dangerous" indicating an unfortunate dolphin , maybe from Miami, was ensnared and then grinded into the can like the tuna?

The "dolphin safe" label refers to the method of catching, not processing.  Basically, dolphins and tuna aren't circled in nets together.  No, dolphin-not-safe tuna doesn't contain dolphin meat.

Would that be sinful to eat or is dolphin considered a fish?

I don't think so, since a sin requires knowledge. In essence, if it's labelled fish, the responsible authorities say it's fish, and you have no reason to doubt that it's fish, if it turns out to be not fish. It's not on you.

Caveat: I'm not a theologian, I don't self-identify as one, nor did I stay in a Holiday Inn Express recently.

[benedicite]

When I was a child I remember porpoise being on the menu in some restaurants.

[jovan66102]

Can I Eat That? A Guide to Weird Lenten Foods

[Marmot]

I think it's OK to eat fish without a backbone during Lent. I would go as far as saying you should never eat the backbone of fish.

Here we always eat waffles on the feast of the Annunciation. Even the pagans here do. The day is called Waffle Day, I'm not kidding.

[clayman03]

Can I Eat That? A Guide to Weird Lenten Foods

That was one of the greatest articles I've ever read. Lol!

[IudicaMe]

Dolphins are evidently Mammalia so they cannot be consumed during Lenten abstention.

[jovan66102]

Dolphins are evidently Mammalia so they cannot be consumed during Lenten abstention.

As the article I linked to above points out, there are several mammals that are approved for Lenten abstention, usually, but not always, aquatic mammals similar to dolphins.

[Marmot]

I can prove that it is lawful to eat whale meat on days of abstinence:

Jon 2:1
"1 Et præparavit Dominus piscem grandem ut deglutiret Jonam: et erat Jonas in ventre piscis tribus diebus et tribus noctibus."

Matt 12:40
"Sicut enim fuit Jonas in ventre ceti tribus diebus, et tribus noctibus, sic erit Filius hominis in corde terræ tribus diebus et tribus noctibus."

So you see, Our Lord says the fish of Jonas was a whale. Because of the inerrancy of Scripture, we may conclude that we may eat whale on days of abstinence.