Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Bluefin Tuna Update: In 2008, Green Peace featured this blog entry on its Web site, a significant event that intersects with our discussion on environmental policies and the global movement’s stance on conservation.
In 2008, Wil Ford, a disabled U.S. Marine veteran, and other concerned conservationists worldwide encouraged the United Nations to consider banning the international Bluefin tuna trade to save the declining population of the cherished species in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Result: Mission accomplished!
In Tokyo, Japan, a Hong Kong sushi restaurant owner at the world’s largest fish market paid a record $55,700 for a huge bluefin tuna weighing 276 kilograms (607 pounds). The auction bidder was one of many winners in the first auction in 2008 at the Tsukiji market, where approximately 2,904 bluefin tuna were sold.
The massive bluefin tuna was caught off Japan’s northern region of Aomori, fueling marine biologists’ fears that the ever-increasing demand for sushi is negatively impacting the already endangered bluefin tuna population, which faces a serious threat of extinction.
In Japan, sushi lovers hungrily consume approximately 25% of all tuna caught worldwide. The demand for more tuna has prompted the local fishing industry to act decisively and propose revisions of regulations aimed at saving the species from extinction.
In Japanese sushi culture, life without bluefin tuna is meaningless. Tuna consumption is a multi-billion dollar global business. In Japan, many sushi lovers are incredibly devoted to tuna, especially bluefin tuna, widely revered as the “king of sushi.”
At the world’s most exclusive restaurants, insatiable appetites for the freshest bluefin tuna have fueled the demand to fish for more tuna. Each day, carefully packed, custom-made wooden crates of fresh bluefin tuna arrive at Narita airport in Tokyo from many destinations around the world.
Less than two days after being caught, the world’s top sushi chefs expertly prepared the fresh fish for sushi lovers, at which point fortunate Japanese customers lovingly caressed and sensually stroked the tuna before eating it. During these conversations (Maguro No Kaiwa) with the King of sushi, a customer encourages the fish to give him or her the best sushi experience prior to eating it. In Japan, bluefin tuna is truly the King of sushi.
