Dead Bluefin Tuna Fetches Obscene Amount of Money in Tokyo

By. B. McPherson

It you watch this video from RT television through to the end, you will see the numerous carcasses of these endangered animals at the Tokyo market.




While the number of Bluefin Tuna continue to dwindle in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, Japan thumbs its collective nose at conservation efforts. Thursday’s Tsukiji fish market saw the first Bluefin tuna reach a price of 56.49 million Yen (USD $ 736 thousand). With profits like those to be made for catching the endangered species and a strong government lobby to prevent controls on the harvesting of these magnificent creatures, the Bluefin doesn’t stand a chance.

At the 2010 conference in Qatar, the Japanese were accused of sinking any chance of reaching an agreement on limiting fishing.

“Japan's aggressive lobbying operation in the days before the vote will be familiar to veterans of International Whaling Committee meetings, where poor island nations vote with Japan in return for investment in their fishing industries.” The Guardian UK

The Japanese market consumes about 80% of the Bluefin tuna for high grade sushi.

The continued overharvesting of this valuable fish as well as environmental disasters like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico during the Bluefin’s spawning season, have pushed the species to dangerous lows.

Japan has been criticized by conservationists for its continued dolphin slaughters and its stubborn insistence on hunting for whales in the Southern Ocean.
Location: Japan, Tokyo, Shinjuku, Nishishinjuku, ２丁目８−１

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