Sushi! Japan won't comply with possible Tuna ban

Japan says it won't comply with possible tuna ban
Japan says it won't comply with possible bluefin tuna export ban ahead of key int'l vote

TOKYO (AP) -- Japan will not comply if a ban is imposed on international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, prized by Japanese for sushi, a senior official said after the United States threw its support behind the move ahead of a crucial vote.

"If worse comes to worst, Japan will inevitably have to lodge its reservations," Vice Fishery Minister Masahiko Yamada told a news conference Thursday.

His comments came a day after the United States threw its support behind the ban on the international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna, which conservationists say risks extinction if current catch rates continue.

At a March 13-25 meeting in Qatar, 175 member countries of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or CITES, will vote on a proposal by Monaco to list the species under Appendix 1 of the convention. If the measure wins support from two-thirds of member nations, trade of the fish would be banned.

Environmentalists say that would significantly reduce the catch because 80% of all Atlantic bluefin ends up in Japan, where it is a key ingredient in sashimi and sushi. Fatty bluefin -- called "o-toro" here -- can go for as much as 2,000 yen ($22) a piece in high-end Tokyo restaurants.

But Japan may register a reservation on the ban, which in practical terms means it could engage in trade with any other nation that also files a reservation....

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An international organization is contemplating an export ban on Atlantic bluefin tuna that Prince Edward Island fishermen say would have a disastrous impact on their livelihood.

Representatives from 175 countries that belong to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species will begin meetings on Saturday in Doha, Qatar, that could lead to a ban on exporting Atlantic bluefin tuna.

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The United Nations panel that oversees the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species announced on Feb. 5 that it believed the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna should be banned because of a drop of more than 80 per cent in stocks since the 19th century.

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Orion said:

CBC News - Prince Edward Island - Atlantic bluefin tuna ban considered



Japan has already said that it won't take part in the ban, and it probably has the biggest impact on this species. That said, the more countries that participate the better.

It's unfortunate that industry has to be affected, but the alternative is that we fish them to instinction and then the industry goes under anyway. This is about long term sustainability beyond quarterly projections of companies.

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Sir Loin said:

Japan in fact does have the biggest impact on the blue fin tuna as they buy most of it, far more than any other nation on the planet. And they don't mind paying big bucks to do so. Sadly IMO, if they don't participate the ban won't be worth much or very effective at restoring the blue fin population.

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Orion said:

It would still have an effect though. If other countries participate in the ban, then that is fewer countries collecting tuna for sale on the global market. According to basic supply and demand, the prices will increase and Japan will have less access to stock.

On an ecological level, Japan can only fish in its local and international waters. Tuna elsewhere will be safe from fishing and the population will have a chance to bounce back.

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Gill said:

Bluefin tuna are primarily found in international waters. They are a blue water fish.

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Rejection Thursday of a bluefin tuna ban at the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) drew sighs of relief from sushi chefs and fishermen across Japan. Japan consumes about three-quarters of the globe's bluefin tuna.
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As a result, the proposed ban has been closely watched here, resonating far beyond the sushi bar. While many Japanese acknowledge that waning bluefin tuna stocks are a serious problem – stocks have dropped by about 60% in the past 13 years – something of a siege mentality is detectable in views expressed in the media and by ordinary people....

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The end of the line of the bluefin tuna in Japan? A Doha, Qatar conference proposes a ban on fishing. The verdict: defeat for the ban and the tuna.
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Tuna that’s okay to eat

The danger of extinction for bluefin tuna does not mean that people should never buy cans of tuna again in their local supermarket, however. There are many species of tuna in the world’s oceans, including:

Albacore

Yellowfin

Big eye

Skipjack tuna

Little tuny or bonito​

What winds up as “Charlie the Tuna” (Starkist) or “Chicken of the Sea” can be all or any of the above; although white fleshed Albacore usually wind up being chosen over the dejected “Charlie” in those Starkist adds......

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The bluefin tuna is one of the most majestic and prized creatures in the sea. Last week, one caught off Japan sold in Tokyo for $396,000, to be used as sushi.

Now the fish is the subject of a scientific fight that shows how hard it will be to gauge the environmental fallout of the biggest offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

The U.S. government will wrap up public meetings next week on whether to recommend declaring the Atlantic bluefin an endangered species. If the government declared the fish endangered, it would bar fishermen from targeting the fish in U.S. waters. An environmental group filed the request last year, claiming in part that the western-Atlantic stock of the fish, long believed to spawn only in the Gulf of Mexico, would "be devastated" by last year's spill from a blown-out BP PLC well.

But scientists disagree about what portion of last spring's crop of young tuna, or larvae, were hit by oil
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The Giant Noodle said:

Ive seen why they do this in a South Park episode. I cant blame them. :roll:

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The Giant Noodle said:

I eat most any type of sashimi. Rolls, Fish rice salads..... you name it. Looooove the stuff.

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