From "Wow! Who Knew?" Department - Japan Opposes Bluefin Tuna Ban - AFP

[hatrack]

TOKYO (AFP) – Japan opposes plans to list the Atlantic bluefin tuna, which is highly prized in sushi and sashimi, as a most-endangered species and to ban its international trade, an official said on Monday.

The UN-backed wildlife trade agency supports a call to stop cross-border trade in the fish when 175 member nations to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) meet next month in Doha, Qatar.

Marine wildlife experts say that, despite fishing quotas, bluefin tuna stocks have plunged by 80 percent in recent decades in the Western Atlantic and Mediterranean, threatening the predator species with extinction.

Japan -- which consumes three-quarters of the global bluefin tuna catch from both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans -- says it opposes such a trade ban and prefers other mechanisms to make the catch more sustainable. Farm and Fisheries Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said this month that Japan's answer to the proposed trade ban is "a clear no", and a fisheries official said Monday that Japan may "take a reservation" and ignore a ban if it is passed.

EDIT

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20100222/sc_afp/uncitesspeciestunajapan

[joeybee12]

1. This really is a shock!

I have no clue as to why Japan is so irresponsible when it comes to such issues. Is it just greed because it's big business for them?

[kristopher]

2. That's partially it, but it is culturally similar to a proposal to ban beef in the US would be.

Of course there is no comparison based on threat to the species, but in relation to what people on a routine basis tuna is so basic to their weekly menu it would be seen in much the same way as a call to ban beef would be seen here.

WE have to do something, though. The danger to the fish stock is real.

It might be acceptable from a stock management view to let them take an exception since it would only be for domestic consumption. The real pressure on the bluefin stock arose when 1) it was realized the value of the fish in Japan, and 2) when the rest of the world acquired a taste for it.

Since such a ban would restrict trade, it would eliminate other countries harvesting the stock and it would prevent Japan from fishing for export. I'd like to see an economic analysis of the problem but I suspect that would work to repopulate the species.

It could also be a chance to link two issues. If the numbers support only Japan continuing to take Atlantic and Med bluefin, perhaps they could be persuaded to give up whaling in exchange...

[hatrack]

3. But not all tuna is created equal - bluefin is "toro" in Japan - very expensive, not a daily item

Perhaps a better analogy would be banning prime rib roast? :hi:

[kristopher]

4. Toro is like bacon...

It is the fatty meat from the belly and is the preferred cut. My tastes run to maguro because I don't like the film the fat leaves on the inside of my mouth.

Both are from bluefin - kujiki IIRC.

[kristopher]

7. I didn't recall correctly...

I went to confirm the name kujiki and found nothing related to fish. I finally figured it out when I recalled that KAjki is swordfish, and KOjiki is the written foundation for state Shinto.

Maguro is the name of the fish and the generic name of the meat, with toro specifying the fatty belly meat.

[Spoonman]

13. Perhaps a better analogy would be banning fillet mignon....

actually, no beef in the world cost's $346 a pound.

A giant bluefin tuna fetched 16.3 million yen ($177,000) in an auction Tuesday at the world’s largest wholesale fish market in Japan.

The bluefin tuna weighs 232 kg - nearly four times as much as the average Japanese man.

http://www.luxuo.com/most-expensive/bluefin-tuna-fetches-record-price-tokyo-auction.html

No other country does more damage to the oceans ecosystem that Japan.
We should place a tariff of 1000% on ALL Japanese import products until the destructive "culture" stops!

[kristopher]

14. You've never had wagyu, I presume...

The average price of tuna in the supermarket in Japan is comparable to beef.

Blind hate rally accomplishes anything. You don't want the Japanese to change, you just want to jump on a bandwagon.

[Spoonman]

15. wagyu (Kobe) filet mignon $66.65 per pound

http://www.amazon.com/Kobe-Beef-Filet-Mignon-filets/dp/B001NGGCUM

The only beef I eat comes from the Dexter Cattle I raise (grass fed, no steroids).

As for

You don't want the Japanese to change, you just want to jump on a bandwagon.

BULLSHIT!

I've been on this "bandwagon" for YEARS!

The "asian" "culture" has decimated hundreds of species. Most of which were in the quest for a bigger dick.

Is that why you eat sushi?

Blind hate

I grew up less than 3 miles from Galveston Bay, and have been an AVID recreational fisherman for 40 plus years. I started SCUBA diving at 15 (forged my parents signature to get certified 30 years ago!)

There are thousands of examples I could use, so I just used the recent ones.

Maybe this will open your eyes.

February 2, 2010

http://mdn.mainichi.jp/mdnnews/news/20100202p2a00m0na007000c.html

Two fishing vessels that were fired upon by a Russian border patrol last month may have intentionally trespassed into Russian waters, a Japan Coast Guard investigation has found.


16/09/2008

http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=3499&approach_id=13

Police caught two Japanese vessels allegedly fishing illegally in our waters at the weekend.


http://www.illegal-fishing.info/sub_approach.php?approach_id=19&subApproach_id=116

Chinese fishers and fishing boats have been apprehended or monitored engaging in illegal activities in the waters of many countries, including Australia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Sierra Leone, Guinea and South Africa. In the Philippines alone, the authorities say they have arrested almost 600 Chinese nationals for poaching in the last nine years.

Chinese companies have been implicated in organised crime rings involving illegal fishing.


04/01/2010

http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=4442&approach_id=19

At least 36 Chinese boats were found illegally fishing in Vietnamese waters off the central coast during the last week of last year, local newswire Vietnamnet reported on Monday.


16/12/2009

http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=4379&approach_id=19

Auckland - Pacific tuna will be vulnerable to severe overfishing for at least another year after negotiations to protect one of the most threatened species failed.

The Asian fishing nations of South Korea, China, Taiwan and Japan blocked calls from small Pacific countries to cut bigeye tuna fishing on the high seas by 50 per cent.

25/08/2009

http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=4035&approach_id=19

Rome - Illegal fishing is depleting the seas and robbing poor nations in Africa and Asia of resources, but a lack of global cooperation is undermining efforts to track rogue vessels, an environmental group said on Tuesday.

Part of the problem that Asian countries which consume large quantities of fish - such as China, South Korea and Taiwan - are not too scrupulous about where the catch comes from

03/02/2010

http://www.illegal-fishing.info/item_single.php?item=news&item_id=4517&approach_id=13

Kemaman - The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Tuesday detained 21 Vietnamese fishermen and seized two deep sea fishing vessels near Malong oil rig, about 90 nautical miles off Kuantan.

[n2doc]

12. Well, their culture will have to change when the fish are gone

Too bad that they won't do it voluntarily.

[warm regards]

16. No, they a eat a hell-of-a lot of tuna.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. Gosh. That's a suprise. nt

[kristopher]

6. Interesting that someone unrecced this post. K&R

[hatrack]

8. (sound of own head hitting desk)

Unbelievable.

[Nihil]

9. Pretty disgusting.

Guess someone saw it as "an attack on Japanese culture & traditions"?
:shrug:

(K&R)

[n2doc]

10. another article

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2010/02/japan-will-ignore-ban-on-bluefin-tuna-says-the-fish-isnt-that-endangered.php

I wish people cared enough to impose sanctions on Japan, but given all the other crap going on, nothing will happen. And then the fish will be gone. Enjoy your sushi, bastards.

[depakid]

11. Sooner or later protecting the world's fisheries will require gunboats

Otherwise the shortsighted and greedy will destroy the resources for us all.