Japan Says It Will Ignore A Ban On Bluefin Tuna

Japan has announced that it will ignore a ban on international trade of the Atlantic bluefin tuna. This will likely be a hot topic when the meeting of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES) takes place in March.

The bluefin tuna is the foundation for one of the most profitable fisheries in Japan. The country also uses the fish for a pricey sashimi delicacy. Unfortunately, the bluefin tuna is also one of the world’s most endangered fish species, found on Greenpeace’s red list.

Bluefin tuna are collected from fish farms and killed when they are still too young to mate. Their slow sexual maturity might mean the end of the bluefin tuna, unless the world’s nations come together to protect this valuable species at the CITES CoP15 next month.

A representative from Japan has said they don’t believe bluefin tuna is endangered “to that extent.” They insist the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) should be the one to moniter the bluefin tuna population, instead of CITES. (Perhaps this is because when a species is added to the CITES list, it is not removed.) Does Japan not know that 60,000 tons of bluefin tuna are fished each year, when the legal limit is only 22,000 tons? This makes the bluefin tuna grossly overfished, and the only way to prevent its imminent extinction might be a worldwide ban.

Suspiciously, Japanese company, Mitsubishi, who controls 35-40 percent of that 60,000 tons of bluefin tuna stock, has been accused of hoarding thousands of bluefin tuna. Conservationists think Mitsubishi might be trying to corner the market, so if and when bluefin tuna become extinct, the price will skyrocket and they will turn an obscene profit.

In order to pass the formal proposal for a ban on bluefin tuna, CITES will need 2/3 approval from its 175 member countries. European countries, like France, home of the largest fllet of Mediterranean bluefin tuna, say they are prepared to back an international trade ban.

You can help persuade Japan to get on board the banning-bluefin-tuna train, by signing this petition.

Read more: ban, bluefin tuna, cites, environment & wildlife, fish, japan, Mitsubishi

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Dani T.

9:47AM PDT on Jun 28, 2010

Japan is a horrible example of greed and the destruction of our planet and it's beautiful resources.

send a green star

Beverley A.

11:33PM PDT on Apr 13, 2010

You can also boycott visiting Japan and, therefore, not spend any tourist dollars there, which would otherwise benefit its economy.

Japan (like most Asian countries) needs to instigate ZPG - its population is too excessive for its total land mass (which is why it entered WWII - to expand their empire and acquire more land).

bob m.

7:40PM PDT on Apr 11, 2010

Tamara B.
The people of Japan are just roaring in protest; I can hear it from here.
This is a world food issue. Affecting us all.
I hate to use this point BUT; Isn't this a kind of kamakaze attitude. Suicidal if you get my drift .....net.

Marina M.

5:44PM PDT on Apr 11, 2010

Japan has become so greedy and corrupt when it comes to matters of whaling and fishing. I have stopped buying seafood from Japan because of this. We need to STOP supporting their fishing industry by boycotting their products!

Marc P.

8:05PM PDT on Mar 31, 2010

Very informative.

Janice P.

5:10PM PDT on Mar 25, 2010

Let's not let decency or concern for living creatures get in the way of profit. Japan, where is your sense of shame?

valda p.

7:37PM PST on Mar 13, 2010

It's true you cannot judge a whole nation of people by the actions of some,but by the same token if they allow this inhumane treatment to continue ,they are condoning it,I quote the Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel,she said ,There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice but there must never be a time when we fail to protest.

Tamara B.

10:23PM PST on Mar 10, 2010

All of you who made racist comments are disgusting. Would think that members of the Care 2 community would be past judgind entire peoples based on the stance of their nation's government.... unless of course you want people to judge you in return based on the actions of the Bush administration...

Cat N.

3:08PM PST on Mar 7, 2010

I doubt signing a petition will do anything, given the Japanese government's stance. Still, I've signed it.

Past Member .

12:04AM PST on Mar 7, 2010

The Japanese have given us some of the most beautiful art forms in the world: Calligraphy, Ikebana, Kabuki, and the Kimono to name a few. Many of these traditional forms are kept alive through their popular culture such as anime. It is my personal belief that good and true direction comes from the appreciation of all living beings. I don't believe that the Japanese people are anti-life any more than Americans could be called anti-life, if people outside of this country only new about the inhuman practices of some of our larger corporations and not much more. I believe we should boycott products that promote the inhumane slaughter and decimation of an entire species. That has historically been proven to be the most effective way to garner social change. Genocide, which is what a few of the quotes in comment below are proposing, is a crime by international law, and historically the results would be devastating and unending.