Tuna Blues

Overfishing is threatening the existence of bluefin tuna, which will soon disappear if greater action isn’t taken.

IN 2013, A 488-POUND BLUEFIN TUNA sold at Tokyo’s famed Tuskiji fish market for $1.76 million. The fish was quickly cut and served in a variety of tuna dishes at the buyer’s restaurant, Sushi Zanmai. The cost, unfathomable for most, is the result of two factors: the perceived specialness of tuna’s fatty, red meat, and the fish’s declining population, which has decreased by ninety-seven percent in the last five decades.

     The bluefin tuna is one of the most vulnerable fish in the ocean. The population has been hit hardest in the Pacific, the result of mass fishing from Asian, North, and South American countries; additionally, one Atlantic sub-population has already disappeared. The biggest importer of the fish is Japan, consuming approximately eighty percent of all Atlantic bluefin tuna harvested. The driving force behind the consumption is sushi, which Japan frequently cites as their defense for continuing to eat the endangered fish.

     Sushi, as a touchstone of Japanese culture and heritage, has existed in its present form only since the 1800s. And tuna, as a primary ingredient in sushi, has a murkier history—historians note that in general, white-fleshed fish was preferred to red-fleshed fish like tuna, and it wasn’t until an enterprising Tokyo sushi chef took advantage of a big catch of tuna that local tastes began changing. Today sushi, tuna, and Japanese culinary traditions are firmly intertwined, and bluefin is still highly prized.

     As a pivotal player in the ocean’s ecosystems, tuna’s disappearance could have catastrophic effects on food chains and the health of the ocean. In the last few decades international governing bodies have formed in an attempt to regulate bluefin fishing. These groups, such as The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), try to impose limits on how much each participating country can harvest, but rules are hard to enforce. Inconsistent standards and international disagreements, government bureaucracy, and the bluefin’s own wide-reaching migratory patterns all conspire to make it difficult to adequately protect the fish.

     For civilians who would like to help, the best option is to simply stop eating the tuna, whether in a restaurant or at home. Where there is no demand, there is no supply. 

Originally published in the Fall 2016 edition of The Coastal Table.