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The rage for sushi and sashimi, Japan's raw fish dishes that overtook the West and have now spread to increasingly prosperous China, risks wiping out one of the Mediterranean's most emblematic residents: the bluefin tuna.
Experts say too many of these majestic fish prized since Greek and Roman times -- each one of which can weigh up to 900 kilos -- are ending up on the platters of restaurants around the globe.
"Japanese consumption was already a threat to bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean. The European craze for sushi bars has added to that," said Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi, a Spanish expert and author of several reports for Greenpeace and the World Wildlife Fund.
And "if the Chinese market continues to grow, that will be the end of the stock," he said.
Eating Japanese-style raw fish in rice packages spread to Europe and the United States in the 1990s and quickly grabbed palates there.
China seems to be next, according to Bregazzi who said there had been a significant increase in tuna consumption there in the past six years. Even though there are few official figures on Chinese consumption, the trend has also been observed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a body responsible for managing bluefin tuna fishing.
Japan, however, remains the main consumer of bluefin tuna. "Around 80 to 85% of bluefin tuna caught in the Mediterranean is exported to Japan," said Jean-Marc Fromentin, a leading worldwide expert on the subject at the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea (IFREMER).
Sushi consumption took off after World War II, largely using southern bluefish tuna then found in huge numbers off the coast of Australia.
"This stock has now collapsed thanks to over-fishing, and the Japanese turned their attention to the Atlantic bluefin tuna," said Fromentin, adding that despite its name, Atlantic bluefin comes mainly from the Mediterranean.
Prices began to climb. Fishing fleets were modernized in Europe, and new fishing fleets created in Turkey and northern Africa. The result -- a huge over-capacity in fishing.
Today more than 50,000 tons of bluefin tuna are caught every year in the Mediterreanean. To prevent stocks from collapsing, that figure should be limited to 15,000 tonnes in the short term, according to ICCAT.
"The bluefin tuna industry is in the process of fishing itself to death," said Greenpeace oceans campaigner Karli Thomas. The risk now is that the depletion of tuna will wipe out the fishing sector, and cost thousands of jobs in the Mediterranean region.
The tuna are sold to tuna fattening farms, many located in Cypriot, Croatian, Maltese, Sicilian, Spanish and Tunisian waters and many owned by Japnese companies like Mitsubishi, Maruha or Mitsui or the Spanish group Ricardo Fuentes e Hijos.
The tuna are transported to these offshore farms in huge circular cages 50 meters in diameter and 23 meters deep. Once in the tuna farms, or ranches as they are sometimes known, the tuna gorge on tonnes of sardines, mackerel and herring.
This boosts their weight to the demands of the Japanese buyers. Some farms also feed the tuna freeze-dried garlic to stimulate their blood circulation, or prawns to boost their reddish tinge.
It takes between nine and 20 kilos of small fish to put a kilo of weight on to a bluefin tuna, according to a co-owner of the Fish and Fish Farm in Malta, Joseph Caruana.
The fattened tuna are then sold at around 13 euros ($20) a kilo to Japanese buyers, who in turn sell them for a much higher price in Tokyo -- where a good quality, 200-kilo tuna can fetch up to 20,000 euros.
"It is the big firms that push the fishermen into over-fishing," said Bregazzi.
In theory, the bluefin tuna harvest is monitored so that the ICCAT quotas are respected. But there are numerous flaws.
This year, the European Commission -- the EU executive -- has clamped down somewhat. Fishing was even put on hold for 15 days for some countries -- a decision which infuriated French and Italian fishing fleets in particular.
"But the Turkish tuna seiners continued to fish, and there is always the illegal fishing by Japan and Korea," said French fisherman Andre Fortassier.
Fishing and farms have also developed in non-EU countries in recent years, including Libya, Tunisia and Algeria where quota controls tend to be looser, industry sources say.
For Sergi Tudela, a Spanish marine biologist with Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the responsibility lies with ICCAT.
"If important parties in ICCAT such as the US, the European Union and Japan decide to put an end to this unsustainable situation and to adopt real recovery measures, the other countries should accept them," he said.
"Japan is the key market. If there is a real willingness from Japan to ensure that only real sustainable production is being imported, they can implement that," he added.
"The potentiality is there, it only lacks political will."
© Wire reports
49 Comments
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OssanULTRA
There is only one facility in the world where Bluefin Tuna has been succesfully hatched and raised from eggs, and that is in Japan. Further development of this technology could conceivably solve the global bluefin tuna shortage. On the other hand the growing demand which now includes the entire world probably will be more than such farming could meet. Bluefin tuna will go the way of gasoline. How many pieces of yuna sushi would we eat if it cost $100 a piece?
GW
when the tuna is gone many japanese will wonder how that SUDDENLY came about, then after a cry in their shoyu it will be the std
Shoganai ne
end of tuna, yr average Tanaka does not care
rjd_jr
Here we go again, blame Japan for everything in life. As per usual.
Anomaly_Jr
@OssanULTRA: Tuna has also recently been successfully hatched and raised from eggs in South Australian Tuna farms. You are right about supply and demand though - I am sure Tuna will be very expensive before too long.
thepro
rjd_jr: Blame the biggest tuna eating country for overfishing tuna? Yeah, strange isn't it.
Surge
The Japanese ruining their own food culture etc by their usual greed. Learn a lesson from the good ol USA, and use your resources in moderation.
Sarge
"now spread to increasingly prosperous China"
Isn't this the main cause of skyrocketing oil prices too?
Alphaape
America is the most selfish country. Sunday 27th July, 06:23 AM JST
Tokyo Gov Shintaro Ishihara, criticizing the Bush administration’s refusal to join the Kyoto Protocol on climate control (Washington Post)
I wonder if the "great mayor" of Tokyo will dump the blame on the US. Let's see, go around touting the dangers of global warming, all while hunting a fish to near extinction for greed.
Yes I understand that it is not Japanese fishermen that are doing the hunting, but thier consumption drives the fishermen to do it. I saw a special on TV (NG I think) about how Japanese companies have buyers waiting on the docks in the Med for the catches to come in, and how they are flown back to Japan daily. I believe Narita has one of the biggest warehouses for these fish.
nutsagain
Most tuna goes into cat food. The cat excrement then finds its way into either land fill or the oceans mixed with all the bugs in kitty-litter where it gets back into the food chain. Think this worrying? I sure as hell do. Pretty soon if not right now, the only fish doing well in the oceans are jellyfish and we're all gonna have to get a taste for them as that's what we'll be eating before long. Try Googling 'The Rise of Slime' .Then again maybe not as it's too unsettling...
dr_jones
Typically! China has to maneko all others and is yet again the reason why bad things happen!
OssanULTRA
"The Japanese ruining their own food culture etc by their usual greed. Learn a lesson from the good ol USA, and use your resources in moderation."
We don't know the meaning of the word moderation. So what on God's earth are you talking about?
westurn
Face it... Sushi is bad for the environment and should be banned !
Zen_Builder
Ok, got here late.
BUT who is doing the over-fishing the japanese or nations adjacent to the Mediterranean?
Last I checked there were no japanese fishing boats in those waters as there are no japanese tuna fishing boats of the australian coast(who provide plenty of blue-fin tuna to japan).
Those countries catch the fish to enrich themselves and if they break their quotas is it japans fault or their own greed?
Yeah, easy to blame the japanese for other countries doing the over-fishing.
Over-fishing around european, etc waters been a problem for a long time.
Heck the US market nearly wiped out the Stork population that produces the Beluga Kaviar(just not reported in main-stream media).
Or how about the current bans on Salmon, etc worldwide.
Fish-stocks worldwide are being depleted, Cod got limited many years ago across europeans waters and it hurt the "Fish & Chips", Fish-finger/sticks", "Fillet O Fish", etc production.
My point being is we are ALL responsible for over-fishing as we don't care where our fish-dishes come from. Ok, my personal pet-peeve(mod don't delete it again).
Shark-fin soup and derived products. Yeah, a menance of the seas till you dive with some. Shark-finning has let to a decrease of certain species as to where they are endangered(not threatened), just don't make the media as they are not mammals or cute.
In short fish/marine-stocks are being depleted worldwide and we are ALL responsible, yeah, easy to blame japan, etc to make yourself feel better.
When did you have your last Tuna macaroni or Tuna casserole? No guarantees as to what type of tuna ended up in the can, is it?
GW
Zen
yr correct about overfishing etc, the topic here is part of all that, tuna, the japanese demand created has lead to overfishing & there is tons of it arriving & clearing customs & making its way to tsukuji for auction even though the stuff is illegally caught along with the legal catches, Jpn has been single handidly decimating stocks all around the world for years, deplete one then on to the next, with the popularity of sushi increasing its just the last nail in the coffin Jpn has already made
Zen_Builder
Hmmm. Lets see if other countries stick to their limits how can japan be over-fishing(when they don't do the fishing)? Explain.
If the other countries don't provide to line their pockets japan will go short.
And Sushi has become a major seller in more countries than japan now, like the US, etc.
There is now a global demand for sushi or you think the sushi the rest of the world orders comes from thin air?
Zen_Builder
Just gets to me when people don't fess up.
The complain about one country reducing all resources yet they happily consume/catch the same resource. Example: Australia makes a fair buck catching tuna, etc for the japanese market but it will never be mentioned during anti-whaling talks.
Yet, the will fight tooth and nail saying their country is NOT the biggest polluter. Do I see a double standard?
For them all it boils down to is percentage points as long as someone got a higher percentage they are free to do as they want.
My point being countries are now tied economically and all the politics/treaties/etc are just as much fluff.
If the US wiped out Russia they would loose a majority of their wheat exports that go to Russia, etc. You just got to see beyond the political Fluff to the real economic movers. And most political posturing becomes laughable.
Rant over. (And it was NOT aimed towards the USA as I know the rabid US defenders here).
GW
zen
pls learn to read, I agreed with yr overfishing comments & also mentioned increased popularity of sushi......
yeah countries are catching the stuff & japanese agents are right there on the docks with token payments & the fish are frozen & flown out, I see tons of these fish at Narita all the time, the japanese demand has been decimiating tuna worldwide for years, the new customers are simply the last nail in the coffin made in Jpn, simple truth
Zen_Builder
GW.
I read you but you don't read me. You think that all the sushi/tuna worldwide consumed comes via Japan?
Same with the Tuna, etc tins your wife opens for your supper.
Zen_Builder
GW.
My point being is that 125mill people eat less tuna, etc than a few billion people out there.
hikikomori08
Here we go again, defend Japan for anything in life. As per usual.
Just read this part again before you try to point the finger somewhere else, anywhere else, again.
OssanULTRA
The notion that Japan by herself is depleting the Bluefin Tuna stocks is pretty absurd. Taiwan has a larger Tuna Fleet than Japan. As already brought up, Local fisheries catch the Tuna, deliver to pens for fattening, then are sold to Japanese agents. And not for some "token" amount either. So yes, the local fisheries who are actually catching the fish are certaibly part of the problem. Then there is the demand, which has multiplied because of the popularity of sushi in the US (since the 80s BTW, the article is wrong), Europe and now China. The global shortage problem involves everyone amd it's ridicuous to blame Japan alone. Imagine drug dealers blaming the entire drug problem on the "users" because without their demand they wouldn't be in the drug business.
Surge
OssanULTRA, get your facts right. It IS mainly Japanese fault. They are the main consumers of this product. Supply and demand etc. Also Japan does not care about the environment at all.
hikikomori08
Nah, no good. Don't try to distract by mentioning something like illicit drugs.
So you're saying it's the fault of the fisheries? I don't think they're going out catching them for fun. They are catering to demand. Of which Japan still accounts for 80 to 85 percent. So yes the Japanese are to be blamed if there is any blaming to be done, and I will. Of course the Japanese media and Japan's defenders will look for somewhere else, anywhere else, to blame, when all these other places still account for less than 20 percent of demand.
Japan is raping the oceans but it's not their fault. It's those outside countries that love our food culture so much, aren't we great.
spudman
surge got facts to support "Also Japan does not care about the environment at all"? or even to disprove OssanULTRA?
Zen_Builder
So yes, the fisheries catch for demand and ignore legal limits. I see that as capitalism. Don't you.
So you say Japan consumes 80~85% of the worlds tuna I want to see proof of that. Japan consumes 80~85% rest of the world which outnumber it by a factor of X only 15~20%. Frack, I must be eating tuna daily.
Yet, if I put you on the spot you would fight hard to say that the USA (a mere 350 mill) contributes a major portion of the worlds pollution.
Surge
spudman. Most of the answers are in the article. Why not read up about Kyoto agreement and Japans adjept failure to comply, and will buying credits from 3rd world countries. Japan care about environment and nature? NEVER, money first.
hikikomori08
Here you go.
As for this
I can't really work out what you're trying to put together in that sentence.
Yes, the Japanese do eat tuna daily.
hikikomori08
No, I didn't mean everybody eats it every day. But daily demand is rampant and Japan is evil.
Zen_Builder
Not sure if we live in the same Japan.
Most of my friends consider tuna too expensive and only buy it on special occasions.
That is for sushi, not talking pre-packed "Tuna Cream" pasta sauces, etc.
Zen_Builder
Hikikomori.
Show me proof/links/scientific proof as to japanese eating tuna daily. Your post was rubbish.
Moderator: There is no need to say to another reader "Your post is rubbish." That is being ill-mannered. This is a forum for mature adults to exchange views and good manners apply in cyberspace, too.
Alphaape
In the post about "Americans being selfish" someone posted that America is 5% of the world's population but consumes 24% of the fossil fuels, so now that the "shoe is on the other foot" in regards to over consumption by Japan now some as seen as bashing Japan.
Yes capitalism is driving the market for increased fishing by the fishermen in the Med, but so is the same capitalism that drives the demand for oil. If Japan were to cut back on their imports of the tuna, then maybe there would be a small decrease in demand, and just maybe we could save a few tuna. But, if as the report says, China is increasing demand, then seeing their track record, they will pick up if the demand in Japan were to decrease and we would still be in the same situation.
hikikomori08
I thought I pre-empted this kind of emotional outburst with my follow-up post at 12.28. What a waste of time some people are. Read the article again and do your own research thanks.
bamboohat
Yeesh. This entire article is based on the opinion of an organization whose goal is to preserve tuna in the Atlantic. Of course they are gonna say there is problem, it makes their group more important. Newspapers need headlines, so there will alwasy be a chicken little somewhere, warning about something. Species come and species go. Market forces will take care of the tuna. If weekly or monthly tuna catches (however they measure them) start to suffer significantly, the market will figure out a way to correct.
Also keep in mind that this whole over fishing thing is based upon projected consumption in China.
Simmer down folks, everything is gonna be ok.
Zen_Builder
As for over-fishing it is known worldwide and is a major problem in european waters. Plenty of articles out there.
But of course articles like this are all lies and fables: http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/mar2008/2008-03-20-01.asp
Altria
Sounds like you guys have a textbook case of tuna rage!
Zen_Builder
Not really, just won't the guys to prove me wrong that over-fishing of Tuna(Blue-fin too), etc don't happen in european, australian, etc waters. And how the over-fishing is linked to japan, in short a direct link to japan.
Something more than Blue-fin tuna is highly priced in Japan.
In short there are few points here: nobody outside japan does overfishing, japan consumes 80+% of the worlds tuna consumption, etc. So far I got zilch proof.
GW
ossan, this bits for you.
thats about $140+/kg for the good stuff vs $20/kg....and you were saying what?
GW
zen
we all know many countries catch the tuna & sell to Jpn........its common knowledge, I dont see anyone denying this, I certainly dont, as I said many posts ago, overfishing is a problem worldwide not just for tuna, some revelation huh, check out this WWF link, shows Jpns consumption based on value at 26% of all worldwide marine resources, thats tiny little Jpn consumming a quarter of EVERYTHING, I dont htink you realize just how many susshi joints, izakaya, supermarkets there are in Jpn, there are a lot! I love fish etc more than the next guy but things are clearly way outta hand for more than just tuna.
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_pacific/index.cfm?uProjectID=JP0092
Zen_Builder
GW.
Link don't work "Reported as deleted". Never mind that I asked for scientific proof NOT a link to a source like WWF, etc.
Still want proof that japan eats 80+% of the worlds tuna, so far non forth coming, which I find a hard claim as a non-japanese. Heck, I ate more tuna growing up in europe than while living in Japan.
Zen_Builder
WWF, AI, etc are all agenda driven and thus not objective and true sources.
ca1ic0cat
Everything I've read in the "Economist" in the past few years indicates that fish stocks are the one part of the economy where Malthus was correct. Continued overfishing of any fish species will cause the population to collapse. I can't say if this is true of Bluefin or not but I would suspect that it is before I guessed that it wasn't.
Papawhale
The attitude that we should "just simmer down and everything will be OK" because the market will correct everything is just insane. If overfishing isn't stopped, we will be eating each other a la Soylent Green in the next 20-30 years. See if the "market forces" will correct THAT!
delitachan
Why don't they just hike up the prices of tuna? Less people might want less tuna if it really hits thier walletbook
GW
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/asia_pacific/index.cfm?uProjectID=JP0092
Zen
here is the link again, if you dont think Jpn consumes a massive amount of tuna etc, I can only say you live in a dream land
GW
weird, Zen if yr game stick WWF & MSC certification in a search engine & you`ll get the link, but you seem to be beyond getting this go have some maguro before it runs out!
Surge
Greedy Japanese plunder the worlds resources, then wonder why common folk can`t afford to eat decent food anymore.
Learn a lesson from the US, use resources moderatly, and treat nature with caution.
Heda_Madness
So, let me get this right. Japan eats more Tuna than another country in the world. But Japan doesn't overfish tuna. European and North African countries fish the tuna and then sell it to Japan where the demand is greatest. The European and North African countries need to reduce their fleet by over 50% to reduce the effects of over fishing.
I'm presuming that none of the posters blaming Japan have the basic idea of supply and demand.
888naff
most non Japanese sushi bars are rubbish in terms of quality ( and are just cashing in on the trend) and the customers are not particularly demanding or knowledgeable about the poor quality they are served... hence just give them something else that is not endangered.. they probably wouldn't be any the wiser anyway. keep the nice stuff for the markets that appreciate it.
kjunluc2
****A great many Americans, like a great many Japanese are pseudo-sophisticates. Those Americans eat raw fish to appear cosmopolitan. Japanese eat it because they like it but eat other foods to appear cosmopolitan.
I sometimes eat it because my wife is Japanese and it's on our bill of fare. But I use a large amount of Wasabi. And, I don't grow giddy with delight.
But, to stay on-topic, most sea food consuming countries are over-fishing