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Overfishing threatening bluefin tuna
August 22, 1997
Web posted at: 12:26 a.m. EDT (0426 GMT)From Correspondent Jackie Shymanski
TOKYO (CNN) -- The Japanese aren't just hooked on the southern bluefin tuna; their high consumption is driving it to extinction.
"Southern bluefin tuna is listed as critically endangered," says Mariko Abe of the World Wide Fund for Nature. "There is a possibility it could be commercially extinct."
The group claims bluefin stocks are at an all-time low, down to less than 9 percent of what they were in 1960.
The Japanese consume the most southern bluefin tuna in the world. As sushi, one ounce sells for $10.
"If I want to eat it, I buy bluefin tuna," said one Japanese consumer. "It doesn't matter if it's expensive."
CNN's Jackie Shymanski reports.
So sellers keep ringing up sales, and declining stocks drive the price up. Bluefins sell for thousands of dollars each, making them one of the most sought-after fish in the Pacific.
Overfishing a threat
Japan abides by international fishing treaties designed to protect bluefin tuna, but a lot of countries don't. Legal loopholes allow South Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia to keep as much as they can catch, and then sell them in Japan.
There is talk of cutting back, but no one can agree on how much. Environmentalists say the annual catch of southern bluefin tuna needs to be reduced by 35 percent, and that anything less will be too little, too late for Japan's favorite dish.
- Consumer News: Food
Related story:
- Japanese brace for annual eel-eating spree - July 18, 1997
Related sites:
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- Sushi Of Summer - from the Osaka Sushi Home Page
- Tokyo Food Page - a complete guide to Japanese cuisine and eating in Tokyo, with recipes, articles on Japanese cooking, restaurant listings, culinary travel tips and more
- Tokyo Q - July 18 - a weekly city guide
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