The Cost of Sashimi: Japan and the Bluefin Tuna

Japan, the UN, CITES, ICCAT, and a Giant Fish

On March 18, 2010, delegates at a UN conference on endangered species decided not to support a ban on trade in the Northern Bluefin Tuna. The proposal was brought forth by the country of Monaco to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Currently, oversight of the Northern Bluefin Tuna trade resides in another multinational organization called the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The major difference between CITES and ICCAT is that the former is a treaty that member nations have signed and must adhere to, whereas the latter is an active multigovernmental organization that oversees Tuna conservation, but with power that is generally in name only.

The Northern Bluefin Tuna is currently listed as “critically endangered” by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. It has a range that spans from the Western Atlantic, where Canadian fishers enjoy its spoils, to the Eastern Atlantic, where countries like Italy and France take in huge hauls. Because the Bluefin is considered a delicacy as sashimi, the fish is traded heavily as far as Japan. With such a wide range of regions in which its caught, nations which gather the fish, and the countries to which its sold, oversight of the Northern Bluefin Tuna can only be handled by multinational agencies.

ICCAT scientists recommended that catches of Northern Bluefin Tuna be limited to 15,000 tons per year, but its advisory members set the 2009 catch limit at 22,000 tons, decreasing slightly in tonnage in the next few years. Of course this doesn’t take into account illegal harvests, which some reports claim up to 30,000 tons harvested. Taking this all into account, then, it’s not a surprise that some nations, like Monaco which put forth the initiative and America which backed it, wanted official support from the UN to block the trade of the Northern Bluefin Tuna.

Japan vehemently stood against the ban, supported by a number of developing nations involved in the fishing trade.

Sashimi, the Billion Dollar Industry

The Northern Bluefin Tuna is known to the Japanese as 黒鮪ークロマグローkuromaguroー“black tuna,” and is mostly eaten as sashimi. There are no definite numbers as to the revenue made by the trade of Bluefin Tuna, but a representative of American Samoa is quoted here as saying it’s a 4-billion dollar a year industry.  Given the weak Japanese economy, it’s no wonder that they want to keep investing in a fish that its culture finds delicious, and many people do believe that eating Bluefin Tuna will maintain their health. Moreover, Bluefin Tuna is but one of the many kinds of tuna eaten by the Japanese, but as many news outlets will tell you, Bluefin is most highly coveted with a few specimens selling for over $100,000 at Tokyo’s famous fish market.

Japan hasn’t been alone in its protest against the ban. A number of developing nations see the profit in the trade of the fish, and similarly detest the idea of killing a lucrative industry. Attempts at breeding Bluefin Tuna in captivity are underway, but currently are not commercially viable, particularly to developing nations that wouldn’t be able to afford the infrastructure for cultivation. The countries that stand against the ban, then, are largely doing it for economic reasons.

The Japanese Response

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama sent this Tweet on March 20 Japan Time:

ワシントン条約締約国会議の委員会で、 クロマグロの取引禁止提案が否決されました。日本の主張が理解されてよかったです。乱獲を戒め、養殖など日本の技術の発展も支援しながら、世界の人々にマ グロのおいしさを味わっていただけるように、今後も努力していきます。

Translation:

The ban on Bluefin Tuna was rejected by the members of the Washington Conference (CITES). Japan’s insistence against the ban was well represented. For the world’s people to keep eating delicious Bluefin tuna, however, we need to stop over fishing and look to support domestic fish breeding industries.

A similar voice came from a spokesperson from the fishing industry, quoted in the Asahi Newspaper:

禁輸回避は当然です。大西洋のクロマグロ資源が絶滅するとは、我々は誰も思っていない。禁輸回避を信じていました

Translation:

It was natural to resist the embargo. The Northern Bluefin Tuna stores are being devastated, but I don’t think we’re the ones doing it. An embargo won’t do anything to stop it.

He goes on to say:

はえ縄漁は資源に優しい漁法だ。しかし、これからも日本の漁船は、どの海域でも漁獲枠をしっかり守って資源を大事にしていかなければいけない。政府も漁獲 枠を超えたマグロの輸入はしないと国際社会に表明し、日本は資源保護の先頭に立っていくべきだ

Translation:

Lead-line fishing is really productive. But because of that, Japanese fishers have to respect the catching limits in restricted areas if we are to properly protect the resources. This is essential. The government and fishing industry should point out to the international community that we aren’t exceeding limits. We should be leading the way to protect the species.

So, essentially Japan argues that they’re not the ones that are overfishing, and therefore aren’t the ones that should be punished by a ban. At least, they’re not overfishing in the Atlantic. Plenty of reports surface of their overfishing in the Pacific, however, and those reports aren’t a focus of this article.

There are two points which a number of news outlets fail to mention: 1) That Japan fought against a ban, which meant a complete halt of trade in Bluefin Tuna. To take a billion dollar industry to nothing within a year is a striking move, and if viewed in the light of national interests, can understandably be reasoned out. This is not a nation that is laughing heartily over its dead fish.

2) Japan has made mention that they want to change. Powerful people are strongly supporting domestic fish cultivation and taking a stand against illegal over-fishing. Prime Minister Hatoyama supports these ideals, and if the top-down model has any effect, it might move toward the populace in time. It should be noted by media outlets that Japan expects its source of Bluefin Tuna to change once domestic fisheries have the production capacity.

So What Do I Do?

It’s simple enough: don’t order Bluefin Tuna for sashimi. There are plenty of other options that you can choose from. You can ask your friends and coworkers to do similarly. Because the Bluefin Tuna catch is monitored by multigovernmental agencies, there’s not much you can do besides spread the word about the danger and try to lower the demand via grassroots methods. Still, that’s something.