July 2007
In Japan eating fish is a time honoured tradition, but has the nation with the seemingly insatiable appetite bitten off more than it can chew?
The news that some favourites and delicacies are in danger of disappearing from the menu is unpalatable if not downright distasteful.
Belatedly Japanese authorities have taken the bait. Reporter Shane McLeod joins the crew of the Shirasagi, patrolling the waters off Kobe where illegal fishing is rife and Japan’s notorious gangsters, the yakuza, are making a killing. “When we board their ship some are violent especially people who are involved with organised crime groups - they are very dangerous”, says Captain Masaaki Shimojyo.
Yet these offenders are small fry compared to a heist on the high seas that’s created an international scandal. Japanese trawlers plundered more than two hundred thousand tonnes of southern blue fin tuna worth in excess of ten billion dollars. Hagen Stehr one of Australia’s most successful and high profile tuna fishermen and farmers says it could have wrecked the Australian tuna industry, “It is skulduggery, it is an international crime. It is fraudulent, it is straightout fraudulent.”
Japan’s blue fin tuna quota has been slashed in half for the next five years. Now the battle is to persuade Japanese to eat farmed tuna.
McLeod visits a tuna farm on the remote Japanese island of Amami where scientists claim to have pioneered and perfected the technology to breed tuna.
Tokyo sushi master Katsumi Honda turns his nose up at the idea, although Tsunenori Iida “The Boss” at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market - the biggest in the world - believes fish farming is the future.
Duration : 0:18:52
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Here is the problem …
Here is the problem my friends regardless chinese, black, white, whatever. The oceanse are getting over fished. When they get over fished this has a detrimental impact on our ecosystem. Their are people as we know today who fish illigally. Much light has been brought on the asian countries as of recent. I’m not racist and this is happening all over the world as we see but the asian countries do it regardless of what happens to the ecosystem. Without remorse and any second thought.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
you are a girl …
you are a girl right?
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
you stupid ing …
you stupid ing Australian
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yes, they will eat …
yes, they will eat some of those endangered animals, but its not like they crave to do so. Meat is meat, when your poor.
Yes, chinese pollu. alot, but most people around the world, and in US text books(like High school/College) agree; USA is extremly wasteful. It was about 2 to 3 times more wasteful per person, than most other places.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yea, Japan eats …
yea, Japan eats almost 10%, but they cannot really raise cows, and get fat like amricans, they can only rely on their closest source of food.
And others may say, eat more rice/noddles, like ’soxbessblue’ rudely suggested, but they only have a small amount of area to grow bread/fruits/veggies.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
one last thing I …
one last thing I had many chance to try the bluefin tuna in my life but I refuse everytime because I know it would a bad judgement to encourage such things….I know they are critically endagered so I try to let them a chance to survive
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
And btw i dont know …
And btw i dont know where you get your stats but its not thrue at all that chineese polluate 3 times less than american. American polluate a lot and i dont say the opposite but the chineese a LOT too. And they are the worst when it comes to protects animals. You know like self conscience. They eat everything from gorilla to tiger wich we know are all endagered.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
ok first i dont …
ok first i dont kill rabbits with mower while i try to cut the grass im not a dumbass. 2 I eat usually a bit of everything like vedgetables, rice, chicken ,porc , beef wich are not endagered animals but farm animals and are not facing extinction. You are talking here about a species that his population has dropped by 95 % since 1950 and the Japan contribuating a lot. they are doing it with the whales dolphin like the chineese with shark finning.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yeah and people in …
yeah and people in usa are still the largest polluters per capita. an average american eats two times more meat and pollutes 3 times more, than an average chinese. and only asians are a problem, huh?
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yeah and people in …
yeah and people in usa are still the largest polluters per capita. an average american eats two times more meat and pollutes 3 times more, than an average chinese. and only asians are a problem, huh?
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
why do you eat at …
why do you eat at all? poor rabbits killed by the mower, while farmers try to cut the grass to plant wheat. dont eat anything!
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
yea i wonder why …
yea i wonder why its becoming scarce? maybe cause they dont practice any type of conservation and catcth all of them
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
i agree with …
i agree with icetrout the world does not need this many asians and many of them are just wasting valuable resources.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Now really …
Now really inpotants things are large market in Cina and Europe also US!
We will be no tuna sushi in Japan.
Don’t you think so?
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
go eat some noodels
go eat some noodels
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
we dont give a …
we dont give a if you cant control your stomach you ing piece of , just be like people from where I live DONT ABUSE ‘ DONT EAT THE SAME THING EVERYDAY DUMBASS.
You see I will never eat a bluefin tuna in my life because they are too critically endangered and I will feel too sorry , but for all of you japaneese you dont give a and you keep eating them . You and chineese with their shark are just get me so mad. My solution is have a patrol boat of marine equipped with m-16.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Denazi-& it’s …
Denazi-& it’s politically correct to cater to over-breeding third worlders???Check out the fish advisories here where I live on the Chesapeake Bay .Being close to D.C.the Bay is home to an onslaught of third world planet eaters .The name of the Chesapeake Bay has been changed to Big Poop Creek!!!:[
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
That’s not what I …
That’s not what I mean and it’s not a propper answer to this issue
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Asians need to …
Asians need to loose a few billion unnecessary eaters:]
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Almost all asian …
Almost all asian countries are overpopulated —> and people need to eat, that’s the main issue…not only “fish-eating japanese whipin out the ocean” it’s a local problem.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
2010sudrai, Why did …
2010sudrai, Why did you tell another person to learn how to spell? Your comment was filled with misspelled words plus errors in grammer and punctuation.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
shut the up …
shut the up kokansenhikari..u dumb , learn how to spell..u stupid ing Japanese are ing bleeding the ocean of there fish. And get the out of our australian water! go ing find your own god whales. ing
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
Here you go again, …
Here you go again,Typical White Aussie redenecks blame Japan.How much money you Aussies ‘ve been paid for exporting fish to Japan? You rabbit,snake,kankaru eaters know no fish.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
japan media has not …
japan media has not reported alot that yakuza did illegal fishing.
December 4th, 2008 at 3:06 pm
mmmmm mercury! d’oh
mmmmm mercury! d’oh