Japan Readying For Life Without Bluefin Tuna Dishesff

Fish vendors in this seafood crazy country are yet to recover from the shock of seeing their government accept a drastic 50 percent cut in Japan’s catches of the prized southern bluefin tuna.

”I am shocked,” said Masaru Ikeda, 55, who runs a small fish shop in Meguro, a residential area of Tokyo. “How can I manage to run my shop if supplies keep dwindling,” he said, soon after the cuts were announced last week.

Ikeda, however, acknowledges that his business has been facing tough times in recent years because of poor supply caused by over-fishing and that slices of raw southern bluefin tuna already command the highest prices in his shop. ”It’s getting harder to find fish at prices that are reasonable,” he said, explaining that bargain hunting at Tsukiji, the world's largest fish market located in Tokyo, has become a daily battle.

The fatty part of tuna, called ‘toro’ in Japanese, is a prized delicacy, selling for almost 10 US dollars per kg in the wholesale market and ten times more when served up in sushi restaurants.

Conservationists see things differently from Ikeda and point out that the cuts were needed to protect the seriously dwindling numbers of tuna and prevent drastic consequences for Japan itself - the world’s leading consumer of fish resources.

”There is no doubt the Japanese will have to forgo their penchant for fish consumption, given the dwindling supplies. But the good news is that at last the issue of over-fishing is becoming a national problem and people are seeking a solution,” said Arata Izawa, officer at the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Japan.

Izawa says the fact that the government accepted a halving of its bluefin tuna quota to 3,000 tons annually for the next five years, is a clear indication that Japan is ready to rein in its rapacious fishing industry and save marine resources.

The landmark agreement, based on evidence that Japan had caught 1,800 tons of southern bluefin tuna more than permitted, was reached during the Oct. 10-13 meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna in Miayazaki, southern Japan. Representatives included officials from Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, the European Commission and South Korea.

Australia was permitted to maintain its quota of 5,265 tons, while South Korea and Taiwan will see their quotas decline 12 percent to 1,000 tons each. The new quotas will be effective from early next year.

Izawa was critical of Australia being allowed to get away with no cuts at all in is large quota especially because most of its catches were destined for the Japanese market. WWF expressed fears that this could leave a gaping loophole in the new agreement.

Japan’s and Australia’s quotas, taken together, account for 80 percent of the total annual catch and the two countries have been accusing each other of exceeding their set quotas.

Southern bluefins comprise three percent of the 580,000 tons of tuna supplied to the Japanese market -the largest in the world- each year.

Scientists say over-fishing is the main culprit responsible for the dwindling stocks of not only bluefin tuna and other fishes but also marine products such as crab and shrimp.

They also point to the huge problem of illegal fishing, now rampant across oceans, that is expected to continue as long as there is a lucrative market.

”Protecting the fishing supply is becoming more difficult by the day as technology development such as powerful trawlers has seen a boom in commercial fishing all over the world,” said Takao Kawamichi, a biologist at the Kansai Wildlife Research Institute.

Experts also point out the growing appetite for fish across the world and richer consumers in rapidly developing countries like China also threaten marine supplies.

”It is time to rethink consumer attitudes where money is the main factor, rather than searching for a trade that seriously considers conservation,” said Prof. Akira Harashina, an expert on ocean environment.

Farming of bluefin tuna is now being explored in Japan as an alternative, but Izawa says this is not easy. “Experiments have shown that farming of bluefin tuna is still very costly given the high prices of marine feed. We also have to remember that feed comprises small fish and over-harvesting can affect the natural marine production supply again,” said Izawa.

Meanwhile, the Japanese fishing industry is bracing for sky high prices of fish for lack of supply. “Japan’s traditional diet was based on fish. But that culture is now facing a threat,” said Harashina.