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WWF Wants To Educate Japan On Responsible Tuna Consumptionff

29 July 2010 Japan

Source: WWF Press Release

 

WWF, the global conservation organization, is organizing a Symposium on the Responsible Consumption of Tuna in Tokyo – reaching out to consumers, industry, media and governmental stakeholders in Japan on the conservation issue facing this prized seafood delicacy of which Japan is the world’s largest consumer country, and inviting discussion.

News surrounding Atlantic bluefin tuna and the high-profile bid to temporarily ban international trade in this endangered species at the world’s largest wildlife trade convention (CITES) in March, 2010, was covered widely in Japan. Nevertheless, opportunities remain few for Japanese consumers to obtain clear and accurate information about the challenges facing fishermen in producing countries
including Japan, or about the sustainability issues associated with this and other tuna species – including alarming stock depletion and widespread illegal fishing and bycatch of non-target species such as sharks and turtles.

Through the symposium, Japanese consumers and the seafood industry will have the opportunity to make the link between tuna consumption habits in Japan and the depletion of a fragile marine resource in other parts of the world.