Bluefin Tuna III - クロマグロ 3

In the previous two entries, I wrote that the Bluefin Tuna is an endangered species, that although the rest of the world is trying to pursue ways to protect and manage the tuna, Japan keeps proposing plans only profitable for the Japanese fishing industry (not to protect small-scale fishermen but to protect the profit for big corporations). Japan has been criticised for 'manipulating science' in an international fisheries meeting, and the government has neglected to inform such facts to its people.  

The earth is our only home and its resources are limited.

Unless we operate sustainable fishing, manage the resources well and have societies to support such acts, fish-eating cultures - not only tuna but all fish- will soon be things of the past.

Some might say that a Japanese university has been successful in breeding tuna for farming. That will solve the problem! Yes, they have. But, tuna are a top predator in the sea and they need live fish to feed on and... lots of them. To produce 1kg of tuna flesh, between 10 and 25kg of live mackerel are thought to be required, for example, which has already caused overfishing of mackerel and the same sort of prey fish. The whole process of cultivation and seedling production has just started and wild tuna will go extinct by the time it has been established as a business to satisfy the greedy Japanese appetite for tuna.

The government is supposed to take measures to protect global aquatic resources together with other countries but since the government is not ready to do it, people CAN make the country change the policies, can't we?

We, as citizens of the earth, can do things such as:

1. not buy tuna - the less people buy tuna, the fewer people try to sell it;
2. tell your local supermarket and fishmonger about the tuna in trouble;
write to them if it is easier, or send them an email;
3. write to the paper or magazine which you usually read;
4. post on your SNS
These things seem insignificant but it has to start somewhere.

For the people who cannot think of stopping eating tuna because they love it so much:

If you stop eating it, are you going to vanish from the earth?
If you DON'T stop eating it, tuna are going to vanish from the earth for sure.

For the people who think it can't be helped, who say they will stop when there's none left:

I'd rather not waste my time arguing with you because the idea is selfish, immature and disgraceful.

It is not an overstatement to say that the future of the tuna fish as a species, the future of the tuna fishermen on Iki and the future of 'washoku' and 'sushi', all depends on what you think and what you do now.