Sunday May 27, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

With overfishing a big issue, what is the best fish to eat in terms of species that reproduce quickly, are still in good supply and are caught using methods that minimize bycatch and damage to the ocean floor?

Have Your Say Nov. 17, 2011 - 05:45AM JST ( 28 )

Order by Time Order by Popularity

28 Comments

0

GurukunNov. 17, 2011 - 07:35AM JST

Since I'm no expert in biology, or fish population, I think the best fish to eat in terms of species are fish that reproduce quickly, are still in good supply and are caught using methods that minimize bycatch and damage to the ocean floor.
0

FoxieNov. 17, 2011 - 09:25AM JST

The best way is fish yourself because fishing with a vertical hook and line gear has a minimal impact on the bottom habitat.

Sardines are abundant in most temperate waters throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans. They grow rapidly and are important food for many fish, seabirds and marine mammals. Sardines are caught using purse seines, which cause minimal habitat damage and result in little bycatch.
-1

SasorizaNov. 17, 2011 - 11:44AM JST

The answer is stop eating so much fish. Once a week is just enough.
-4

NeverSubmitNov. 17, 2011 - 04:18PM JST

According to whom is overfishing a big issue?

I'd like to answer that people should freely eat whatever fish they like so as to support the many fisherman that rely fishing for their livelihoods.
0

SquidBertNov. 17, 2011 - 04:35PM JST

@NeverSubmit,

Well for one, it is a big issue for the fisher men who one day will not have any fish to catch. So sustainable fishing should be a concern for them
1

SquidBertNov. 17, 2011 - 05:03PM JST

Tilapia?
-4

cleoNov. 17, 2011 - 05:19PM JST

Bloomin' obvious answer - don't eat fish, there aren't enough left.
1

SquidBertNov. 17, 2011 - 05:24PM JST

@Cleo, I would agree but I was afraid that the mods wouldn't allow bacon to stand. Other ways it is the obvious answer to this question.
1

smartacusNov. 17, 2011 - 05:29PM JST

I think fish farming will probably be the way to go. There is a really good documentary on this in the superb BBC documentary series "The Blue Planet."

Unfortunately, most people, when they go shopping for fish, neither know nor care if the fish on display is an endangered species.
0

zichiNov. 17, 2011 - 05:38PM JST

smartacus,

which fish which are an endangered species are on sale?
0

SquidBertNov. 17, 2011 - 07:08PM JST

@zici

The Blue Fin Tuna, or kuromaguro? is listed as "Critically Endangered". The next step is "Extinct in Wild"

I'm sure there are others. I think green peace has a list somewhere for you.
2

It"S MENov. 17, 2011 - 07:11PM JST

Caspian Stoerk(Caviar), many shark species, Cod, etc are also threatened by overfishing.

Lots of species are being over-fished or hurt by pollution and are getting close to no longer being there.
2

zichiNov. 17, 2011 - 08:59PM JST

I got this list from Greenpeace,

Alaska Pollock Atlantic Cod or Scrod Atlantic Halibut (US and Canadian) Atlantic Salmon (wild and farmed) Atlantic Sea Scallop Bluefin tuna Big Eye Tuna Chilean Sea Bass (also sold as Patagonia Toothfish) Greenland Halibut (also sold as Black halibut, Atlantic turbot or Arrowhead flounder) Grouper (imported to the U.S.) Hoki (also known as Blue Grenadier) Monkfish Ocean Quahog Orange Roughy Red Snapper Redfish (also sold as Ocean Perch) Sharks Skates and Rays South Atlantic Albacore Tuna Swordfish Tropical Shrimp (wild and farmed) Yellowfin Tuna
0

herefornowNov. 17, 2011 - 11:14PM JST

smartaus -- for once we agree. Farm-raised catfish, salmon and trout are a good start. Eat them all the time -- guilt free.
1

SquidBertNov. 18, 2011 - 07:54AM JST

I would agree with the ones here that say fish farming is the way to go. That was one of the reasons I mentioned tilapia as, although not a salt water fish, it has the benefit that it can be farmed in rice paddies and grow to maturity in about the same time as it takes the rice to fully develop. Then again, it has been showed many times that introducing foreign species to a country can give unwanted results.

Zichi, do you know why Greenpeace are objecting to farmed salmon and tropical shrimp? Is it due to farming practices or false labeling?
1

johninnahaNov. 18, 2011 - 08:59AM JST

A whale isn't a fish, it's an insect.

(Peter Cooke)
0

cleoNov. 18, 2011 - 09:12AM JST

do you know why Greenpeace are objecting to farmed salmon and tropical shrimp?

Fish farming is very harmful to the environment. To increase profits, the fish are kept in crowded conditions, and fed huge amounts to get them to grow quickly. This means huge amounts of waste polluting the water over a large area around the farm and causing all kinds of problems. Crowded conditions also means the use of antibiotics to keep disease to a minimum, so that cheap farmed fish has many of the problems of cheap farmed meat.

http://www.ejfoundation.org/page211.htmlindex.html (shrimp)

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Uploads/Documents/AE01EnvironImpact.pdf (salmon)
1

2020hindsightsNov. 18, 2011 - 10:14AM JST

Fish farming is very harmful to the environment. To increase profits, the fish are kept in crowded conditions, and fed huge amounts to get them to grow quickly. This means huge amounts of waste polluting the water over a large area around the farm and causing all kinds of problems. Crowded conditions also means the use of antibiotics to keep disease to a minimum, so that cheap farmed fish has many of the problems of cheap farmed meat.

Fish farming is the way to go, but it needs regulation to ensure the problems Cleo describes don't occur.
1

cleoNov. 18, 2011 - 11:00AM JST

it needs regulation to ensure the problems Cleo describes don't occur.

It does occur. The problem is that regulating it to the point that there no impact on the environment makes the whole thing unprofitable.
0

HimajinNov. 18, 2011 - 11:19AM JST

I think some of the strain on fish populations may have started when the Japanese moved away from traditional sea food eating based on the season, and sushi became an everyday food instead of for special occasions. Each fish had a season you could enjoy it in, different types of fish were off-limits at certain times, for instance, a season they were likely to have parasites. Another example would be how eel was eaten only in summer, now you can buy frozen eel any time of the year. Eel donburi in January is just plain weird :-D but now you can eat any fish any time of year.
0

2020hindsightsNov. 18, 2011 - 11:21AM JST

It does occur. The problem is that regulating it to the point that there no impact on the environment makes the whole thing unprofitable.

A rather blanket statement. There are many profitable and non polluting fish farms. But it is true that special considerations need to be taken into consideration, including the health of the fish (diseases) and feeding (resulting in pollution).
0

electric2004Nov. 18, 2011 - 12:39PM JST

Cleo:

Thanks for your explanation. It is consistent with a report in Scientific American about Fish farming some time ago.
0

DisillusionedNov. 18, 2011 - 04:15PM JST

Foxie - Sardines are abundant in most temperate waters throughout the Pacific and Indian Oceans.

Um, no they are not! they are actually extinct in the waters around Japan cos of overfishing.

I agree with Cleo that fish farming does produce a lot of waste, but if you consider the environmental impact of fishing for shrimp, tuna, salmon, etc, there is a balance. Fish stocks of nearly all species have dropped by 50% or more in the last century and now with the world's population topping 7 billion it is only gonna get worse. It doesn't matter which species of fish you choose, the answer is management of stocks. Long line fishing should be banned. There is a 60-70% average of by catch with long lining. Fish farming is the answer, but it still has a long way to go to become environmentally sustainable.
-2

kurisupisuNov. 18, 2011 - 09:18PM JST

How can one consider eating fish in Japan due to the pollution of the waters????????????????
-1

OssanAmericaNov. 19, 2011 - 06:17AM JST

Vegan fanatics who have an agenda of convincing the entire human race to cease consuming all animal protein including fish aren't really in a position to offer an objective answer to this question. They will find fault with both the harvesting of wild fish stocks as well as fish farming in principle and offer no solution other than that peopler shouldn't eat fish at all. Of course should people agree and stop eating fish and eat only meats that wouldn't be acceptable either.
0

nandakandamandaNov. 19, 2011 - 01:32PM JST

Of course there are large differences in perception.

To some people the fact that a species is on the brink of extinction is a matter solely for alarm.

To others it is an opportunity to raise prices (and profits) and have the customer enjoy eating something really rare... entirely guilt-free. I have observed this way of thinking openly expressed on countless occasions in this area of the world.
0

nandakandamandaNov. 19, 2011 - 01:34PM JST

PS Maybe an out-of-control predator like Black Bass if you can find a way to make it palatable.
0

FarmboyNov. 28, 2011 - 03:23PM JST

PS Maybe an out-of-control predator like Black Bass if you can find a way to make it palatable.

http://culinaryarts.about.com/od/fishseafood/r/sautedbass.htm