Can Greenpeace Change Japan’s Fish-Addiction?
It’s easy to hammer the Japanese about their rapacious attitude towards seafood in general and bluefin tuna. specifically. Though a relatively small country (127 million) the island nation consumes about 30 percent of the world’s seafood take; Japanese processing boats scour the globe non-stop buying up any and all of the much-prized tuna.
Now comes word from Greenpeace that with a little nudging there may be a slight shift in attitude among Tokyo’s man-on-the-street regarding the future of fish.
Timed during Japan’s celebration of “Marine Season” (with one day devoted to honoring the sea and praying for its fishermen), the local Greenpeace branch has published a “red list” suggesting 15 species of fish that should be taken out of the stores and off the table in Japan, including five species of tuna.
According to Greenpeace, “Japan consumes 25 percent of the world’s tuna, including more than three-quarters of the remaining critically endangered bluefin tuna.”
“The ongoing destructive fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna, which begins this month, is only one example of how fishing industries and governments are failing our oceans,” says Wakao Hanaoka, Greenpeace’s Japan spokesperson.
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