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Big in Japan: Tuna fish will soon be extinct
Bluefin tuna are amazing creatures.
First of all, they're freakin' huge - a prize-catch can weigh nearly a ton, and stretch to nearly 10 feet.
Like human beings, they're also warm-blooded, which allows them to live everywhere from the tropics to the poles.
They can also accelerate as fast as a sports car.
As any Japanese person can tell you, they're also the centerpiece of the Japanese diet. Whether you're partial to maguro (???; tuna) or toro (??; fatty tuna belly), one thing is for certain - tuna are delicious.
Of course, this why bluefin tuna will most likely be extinct sometime in the next fifty years.
It's hard to imagine a fish like tuna becoming extinct, especially since they've been so abundant in the world for most of recorded history. However, numbers are falling dramatically, and it's very unlikely that the population can sustain itself for much longer.
In fact, fisheries have collapsed before, and it's likely that they will do so again.
In 1
993, the cod population vanished on the Grand Banks near Newfoundland in Canada, which has since then devastated the local economy.
So, are we perhaps the last generation ever to enjoy fresh sushi?
Perhaps.
Approximately one year ago, British scientists issued a report warning that within the next fifty years, there will most likely be nothing left to fish from the sea. According to the report, nearly one-third of historical sea fisheries have already collapsed, and the rate of decline is accelerating.
The scientists, who published their findings in the journal Science, partly attributed the fishery decline to the global increase in the popularity of sushi.
Despite the demand for more tuna, bigger vessels, better nets, and new technology for spotting fish are not resulting in bigger returns. On the contrary, the global catch of blue fin tuna fell by 13% between 1994 and 2003.
Dr. Steve Palumbi, a scientist at Stanford who worked on the project, told the press: "Unless we fundamentally change the way we manage all the ocean species together, as working ecosystems, then this century is the last century of wild seafood."
Eeek.
Sadly, it may be to late to save the noble bluefin tuna.
Last month, Europea banned tuna fishing in the eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean for the rest of the year. The move was taken to curb over-fishing and dwindling stocks of fish after the EU reached its 2007 quota.
Atlantic bluefin tuna is the best quality tuna in the world, and fisheries earn top dollar exporting the fish to the lucrative Japanese market.
However, existing bluefin tuna stocks are being plundered, with high rates of overfishing being reported by virtually every single country in the European Union.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) sets annual fishing quotas to be followed by all member countries.
With that said, conservation groups are cynical of ICCAT, and are partial to calling them the International Commission to Catch All Tuna!
Whether you loved canned tuna and mayo or fresh sashimi with a splash of soy sauce, it's probably best to just enjoy the fish while it's still around...
Filed under: Food and Drink, Asia, Japan, Big in Japan
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
rrgg Oct 24th 2007 11:38AM
If I recall correctly, approximately 70% of bluefin is consumed as sushi. I think we know where the demand is coming from and why there's overfishing.
Marilyn Terrell Oct 24th 2007 12:39PM
It's true! The demand for sushi is putting increased pressure on the magnificent wild bluefin tuna. More about it in a recent National Geo feature on global fisheries:
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature1/
The story includes a list of which safe, sustainable fish to buy or order in a restaurant, and which to avoid:
http://www7.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0704/feature1/online_extra.html