China’s growing taste for sushi could ‘wipe out’ bluefin tuna
photo by tanabata (source: Flickr Creative Commons)
On Thursday in Qatar, the UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) voted not to implement a ban on the international trade of bluefin tuna. The Associated Press reported that the rejection of the ban was seen as good news by Japanese fish dealers, who were worried that it might put bluefin out of many consumers’ price range.
Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks have fallen by 60 percent from 1997 to 2007, and environmentalists argue that a trading ban imposed by the 175-nation Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, or CITES, would protect the fish.
–AP
Currently 80% of Atlantic bluefin tuna is consumed in Japan, but there is another growing threat to stocks of the unofficially endangered fish species: China. Increasingly wealthy Chinese diners are broadening their eating habits and developing a taste for sushi.
Check out this CNN video report from Beijing, where the demand for Japanese food – including dishes made with bluefin tuna – is growing.
China’s growing sushi appetite
by Graham Land
Graham Land grew up in Washington, D.C., where he was part of the local hardcore punk scene. Through this unique musical movement he became involved in grass roots anti-racist activism, animal rights and Ecology. Since 2000 Graham has lived in Europe, earning an MA in history from Malmö University in Sweden and working as a musician, English teacher, sports therapist, customer service agent and writer. Graham has a podcast with author Saci Lloyd and is currently pretending to work on his first novel.
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Tags: Atlantic, bluefin, China, endangered, growing, japan, Japanese, sushi, taste, tuna
When the tunma is gon it is gone. We will add it just to another species that got wiped out because of greed.