Japan Says 'No' To Any Ban on Bluefish Tuna

GlobeTracker| Just as Israel declares that it will continue building settlements, no matter what the international community says, Japan has already told the international conference in Doha, a 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, that it doesn’t give a damn if they ban tuna or not.

Japan, who currently consumes 80% of the world’s tuna, will eat it, until it’s extinct. Besides, Japan argues, the tuna isn’t half as endangered as researchers say.

Monaco — the sponsor of the proposed ban on the export of Atlantic bluefin tuna — says numbers have fallen by nearly 75 percent since 1957.

The threat of a ban has some Japanese warning their culture is under siege. Sushi is an iconic dish in Japan, where fatty bluefin — called “o-toro” in Japan — sells for as much as 2,000 yen ($20) a piece in high-end Tokyo restaurants.

The topic is also economic. Japan may east most of the tuna and dolphin in the world, but the citizens of other countries make a living catching tuna for the Japanese. Jobs are involved as well. Read on Bluefin tops CITES conference agenda in Doha.  via AP

More reading: Overfishing to wipe out bluefin tuna in 3 years: WWF Reuters