Jetaime Hires

Overfishing of Bluefin Tuna in Japan

Fishing has been important to human civilization for thousands of years. The
earliest records date back to a 40,000 year old skeleton from China, determined to
have consumed freshwater fish; throughout the centuries, we have relied on the sea
for sustenance. (Hu 2009) According to the documentary The End of the Line, today
1.2 billion people consider fish to be a key part of their diet. With so many people to
feed and the technology to catch the worlds fish four times over, overfishing has
become an overwhelming problem. According to the United Nations Food and
Agriculture Organization, 76% of fish stocks worldwide range from fully exploited to
depleted.
The Bluefin tuna, specifically, has been important historically. Depictions of it
have been found in cave paintings, and Iron Age fishermen caught them in pens.
Greek and Celtic coins featured Bluefin, and they have been pursued in Japan for
over 5000 years. (Brower 2014) Looking at these powerful predators, it is easy to
see why Ernest Hemingway once called them the king of all fish. Bluefin tuna are
warm-blooded and highly migratory, able to reach up to 60 miles per hour during
sprints. The pacific Bluefin has a lifespan averaging 15 years and the potential to
reach nearly ten feet long and a thousand pounds in that timeand the Atlantic
variety can grow even larger. (NOAA) There are three types of Bluefin tuna: the
Atlantic, the Southern, and the Pacific. Though all three are overfished (the Atlantic
and Southern varieties are listed as endangered, and both are on the Red List), the
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Pacific Bluefin has been mostly overlooked until recently, and it is the most heavily
fished by Japan, where the meat is highly valued for sushi. While a recovery plan for
the Atlantic variety has been in effect since 1998 (albeit regarded as not entirely
successful), and the Southern Bluefin has also been regulated for years, catch limits
on the Pacific Bluefin did not exist until December of last year. (Pew 2013)
Most fishing methods used to catch Bluefin are among the less damaging to
the environment. 61% are captured by purse seining on free schools, 11% by
longline fishing, 11% by trolling, and 8% by set nets. (ISSF) Purse seining involves
running a large net around a school of fish and closing the bottom to capture them
before hauling it up. When done on free schools, without the floating objects
sometimes used to attract a more mixed variety of fish, this results in little bycatch,
making it a more efficient and less wasteful method than longline fishing. Purse
seining is also used to capture juvenile Bluefin, however, which are then kept in
pens to fatten up for the sushi markets; as those fish have not yet reproduced, this
can prevent the species from repopulating. (Greenpeace International) In longline
fishing, a series of hooks on lines are attached at evenly spaced intervals to one
central line, which can be up to fifty miles long. This can result in much higher levels
of bycatch, as any non-targeted species that takes the bait will die before the line is
hauled up and it can be set free. Trolling is a safer alternative: shorter lines are
towed behind or beside the boat, and hauled up quickly enough after the bait is
taken to release any unwanted sea creatures before they are killed. (Seafood Watch
Program)
In addition to the problem of removing juvenile Bluefin from the wild before
they have had the chance to reproduce, Bluefin farming is an inefficient and
unsustainable practice. Because the species is carnivorous, they consume much
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more than their weight in fish and other sea creatures farther down the food chain,
which we could ourselves be eating. Farming is also associated with high levels of
illegal and unreported fishing; due to the structure of the Bluefin ranches, it is easy
to misreport catches and flout tracking requirements. (Rey 2010)
The Pacific Bluefin tuna is now among the most overfished species, with the
population in 2013 at only 4% of its historic levels. (Pew 2013) Because these fish
take up to five years to reach maturity, they are particularly vulnerable to
overfishing. (NOAA) Over 90% of the annual catch of Pacific Bluefin is 3 years of age
and under, which means they are not yet capable of reproducing to replenish their
numbers; many of those end up at the aforementioned tuna ranches before making
it to the market. (ISSF)
Japan is responsible for over 70% of all Pacific Bluefin caught, and consumes
an even higher percentageabout 75% of all pacific Bluefin caught in 2011 was
eaten in Japan. (Japan Times 2013) While fish in general is a big part of the Japanese
diet, Bluefin in particular is very valuable because of its high fat content. The belly
of the fish is sold as high grade sushi called Toro, an expensive delicacy.
(Sustainable Sushi) The first auction of the year in Tokyo brings an incredibly high
sum for the first Bluefin, a tradition meant to bring good luckthis year the fish sold
for only around $70,000, compared to over a million last year. Despite the inflated
first auction price, seen by some as a publicity stunt, Bluefin are always a valuable
commodity nonetheless. (Bryce 2014)
Because Bluefin are at the top of the food chain, they impact the ocean
ecosystem on a large scale. Their extinction would affect many species on which
they prey, leading to trophic cascadeseffects throughout the food web resulting
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from the absence of top predators. (Institute for Ocean Conservation Science 2010)
It would also be bad news for the many people who benefit from their sale; if they
are concerned about economic backlash from lower catch limits now, surely having
no Bluefin left to catch would be more financially damaging.
Because the Bluefin is a species that migrates many thousands of miles
across international waters, several intergovernmental agencies are responsible for
its conservation and management. In the Atlantic, this group is the International
Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, or ICCAT. Much of the Pacific is
governed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, to which Japan
and many other Pacific nations belong. These organizations are responsible for
setting and enforcing catch limits for all member nations who fish in that region.
Regulations regarding the vastly depleted Pacific Bluefin tuna stock have only
recently been set by the WCPFC. As of December 2013, Conservation and
Management Measure 2013-09 requires countries affected by the commission to
reduce their 2014 catch of juvenile Pacific Bluefin (those under 3 years of age) by
15% of the average levels caught from 2002-2004. This measure also suggests an
improvement in data collection measures and reporting, to ensure compliance. They
plan to reevaluate the species next year, and juvenile catch limits may be further
reduced. (WCPFC)
Japan sought to reduce the catch of young Bluefin by this amount before
those standards were set by the WCPFC last year; the proposal was made in August,
four months before the WCPFC commission. (Japan Times 2013) As of March this
year, the Japanese Fisheries agency has announced plans to reduce the catch of
juvenile Bluefin in the pacific by 50% of the 2002-2004 levels for 2015. This stricter
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set of guidelines is in response to near record low stocks of adult Bluefin in 2012; as
the country responsible for over 70% of the total Bluefin catch, Japan did not believe
cutting back by only 15% would allow the population to recover sufficiently. The
current stock is estimated at 26,000 tons, and their goal is to increase this to
around 43,000 tons. (Japan Times 2014)
While these are definitely steps in the right direction, it may take a
combination of approaches to fully address this issue. Because Bluefin is in such
high demand, fishermen stand to profit much from overfishing despite guidelines. To
overcome the temptation of taking more fish than the species can replace, agencies
like the WCPFC must not only set scientifically sound limits on fishing (and conduct
sufficient research to determine these limits), they must strictly regulate fishing to
ensure compliance and enforce penalties that outweigh any potential profit.
The WCPFC seeks to ensure compliance in several ways. They require each
member to maintain a list of authorized fishing vessels, which can be used by the
WCPFC to verify boats in the convention area. They also use several methods of
surveillance and monitoring, both to make sure vessels are reporting accurately and
to collect data regarding effectiveness of current policies. In some cases observers
are placed onboard boats to this end. Since 2009, transmitting devices called
Automatic Location Communicators have been installed on fishing vessels in the
convention area to allow tracking of their locations at any time. In addition to this
remote monitoring, patrol vessels of member countries that have been registered
with the commission have the authority to board and inspect fishing vessels, even
those of other nations. Finally, the WCPFC maintains a list of ships known to engage
in IUU (illegal, unregulated or unreported) activities. Members are not allowed to
conduct business with these vessels, which provides an incentive for each country
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to keep its fishing legal. If they are found to be in violation of the rules, others
cannot be involved with their activities. (WCPFC)
Despite these regulations and enforcement measures, illegal fishing is still a
big problem. The WCPFC covers a huge areathe largest tuna fishery on Earth,
covering 20% of its surfaceand many member nations. A Pew Environment report
in 2013 states that a fifth of the worlds catch is illegal or unreported, and the
economic loss from pirate fishing in the WCPFC area is estimated to be between 2146% of the reported catch. Lax port controls by members of the commission are
cited as a main cause; if countries are not verifying the legitimacy of fishing vessels
coming in, it is difficult for the WCPFC s rules to be enforced. (Pew 2013) Each
country must take responsibility for stopping IUU fishing, which damages
sustainability efforts on many levels. Misreported catches hurt the Bluefin
population as well as limiting the data from which future recommendations, policies
and quotas can be made. (Pew 2011)
Another way to reduce overfishing is to lower demand on the buying end: as
one editorial in the Japan Times suggests, for tuna lovers to stop eating tuna and
restaurants to stop serving it until the population can return to safe levels. The
article mentions that this step has already been taken at many restaurants
concerning the Atlantic variety of Bluefin, which has faced serious overfishing
problems as well. (Japan Times 2013) If demand can be driven down through public
awareness, it will no longer be profitable for fishermen to seek out Bluefin beyond
sustainable levels, and their populations will be allowed to recover. It is in the best
interest of those who love eating it to help preserve the Bluefin population, or there
wont be any left to enjoy.

Because Japan is the main worldwide consumer of all Bluefin varieties, they
have the opportunity to have a large impact on the overfishing of these species.
Reducing the catch rate of juvenile Pacific Bluefin beyond what is required by the
WCPFC is an excellent start. It would also be beneficial to implement restrictions on
the import and sale of Bluefin from other countries: ensuring that any tuna brought
in has been caught within legal limits and by registered fishing vessels, and perhaps
reducing the total amount imported, would help curb IUU fishing. Being able to track
a fish from the catch to the market is something intergovernmental fishery
management agencies have had difficulty implementing; perhaps if one of the
largest importers was very strict about this, more vessels would be motivated to
comply with the requirement. (Walsh 2011) Finally, educating consumers about the
Bluefin and its precarious situation could help to reduce demand. If restaurants stop
offering tuna sushi and sashimi, and people stop eating it, Pacific Bluefin, as well as
Atlantic and Southern, may be given the chance to recover.

Works Cited

"Engineering Pacific Bluefin's Comeback." The Pew Charitable Trusts. Global Tuna
Conservation, 2 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"Fishing & Farming Methods." The Seafood Watch Program at the Monterey Bay
Aquarium. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
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"Frequently Asked Questions and Brochures." Western & Central Pacific Fisheries
Commission. N.p., 3 Mar. 2010. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"International Ocean Policy: The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission
2013 Meeting." The Pew Charitable Trusts. N.p., 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
"Japan to Halve Pacific Bluefin Catch." Japan Times. N.p., 10 Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Apr.
2014.
"Japan Urges 15% Cut in Bluefin Catches." Japan Times. N.p., 18 Aug. 2013. Web. 20
Apr. 2014.
"Pacific Bluefin Tuna." Fishwatch. NOAA, n.d. Web. 18 Apr. 2014
"Status of the Stocks." International Seafood Sustainability Foundation. N.p., n.d.
Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"The Nature and Importance of Trophic Cascades in Global Ecosystems."Institute for
Ocean Conservation Science. N.p., 2010. Web. 21 Apr. 2014.
"The Story of Atlantic Bluefin Tuna." The Pew Charitable Trusts. N.p., 2013. Web. 21
Apr. 2014.
"The Story of Pacific Bluefin Tuna." The Pew Charitable Trusts. Global Tuna
Conservation, 23 Apr. 2013. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"Toro (Honmaguro)." Sustainable Sushi. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
"When Purse-seining Goes Bad." Greenpeace International. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr.
2014.

Brower, Kenneth. "Bluefin Tuna." National Geographic. N.p., Mar. 2014. Web. 20 Apr.
2014.
Bryce, Emma. "Why Bluefin Tuna Have No 'fair' Price." The Guardian. Guardian News
and Media, 06 Jan. 2014. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Hu, Yaowu, et al. "Stable Isotope Dietary Analysis of the Tianyuan 1 Early Modern
Human." PNAS. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the
United States of America, 1 May 2009. Web. 20 Apr. 2014.
Rey, Marcos G. "Part II: Diving into the Tuna Ranching Industry." Center for Public
Integrity. N.p., 7 Nov. 2010. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.
The End of the Line. Dir. Rupert Murray. New American Vision, 2009. Film.
United Nations. Food and Agriculture Organization. General Situation of World Fish
Stocks. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.
Walsh, Bryan. "Study Shows That Bluefin Tuna Is Being Severely Overfished. Time.
N.p., 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 22 Apr. 2014.