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Jul. 8 2009 - 12:10 pm | 265 views | 1 recommendation | 145 comments

Ditch the Toro: The Bluefin Tuna Dilemma

By NADIA ARUMUGAM

It’s an interesting notion just how far we are willing to go for a good meal. Will we travel that extra mile? Sure. Will we dig deeper into our pockets? Indeed, provided we can afford it. And sometimes even if we can’t. Will we eat a species into extinction? Yes. Yes, it seems that we are capable of even that.  

I’m talking about the most sought after catch on the sashimi menu: bluefin tuna. If skipjack is the mass-produced Tyson chicken of the sea then bluefin is its beer-massaged, overindulged Kobe (thrice removed) cousin. This delicacy with its buttery, rich taste and silky texture has been in such demand since, well the delights of raw fish were discovered, that bluefin stocks are now alarmingly low. In fact, global stocks have plummeted by an incredible 90% in the last 30 years alone. You’d think that this fact alone would prompt eateries and sashimi-eating folk to look elsewhere for their piscatorial kicks. Many have. Thousands of restaurateurs around the world no longer serve this vulnerable fish and are committed to not putting it back on menus until stocks have fully recovered. But there are also those who refuse to compromise gluttonous gratification to keep the bluefin from joining the ranks of the T-Rex. This would be namely the Japanese who consume over three quarter’s of the world’s catch. Even Japan’s most high profile gastronomic export Nobu Matsuhisa – who lends his name to 24 of the world’s most exclusive sushi joints – continues to serve up bluefin despite intense pressure from his celebrity clientele to drop it.  His one concession; he added an asterisk on his menus labeling the fish as “environmentally challenged”, and so putting the responsibility on diners not to order it.

But a panacea, some say, is in sight. According to a piece on Bloomberg.com yesterday, “Breeding Breakthrough Helps Sushi Baron Create Sustainable Tuna”. The article tells the story of Hagen Stehr, chairman of Australia based Clean Seas Tuna Ltd. and his ambitious plans to save the blue fin from extinction by breeding the fish in captivity. According to Stehr, they have over 50 million fertilized eggs, and hold “the equivalent of 28 years of quotas for wild southern bluefin in the palm of one hand.” An amazing feat indeed. But one that is not without great challenges. Bluefin are cannibalistic, so how many of those 50 million newbies will actually make it into adulthood and onto our plates remains to be seen.

 You may have detected that I’m not all that enthusiastic about this scheme. And I’ll tell you why. To produce every pound of tuna, about 13 pounds of wild fish is needed as feed. This comprises of mackerel and sardines which are also dwindling in the seas. So how’s this for a paradox: to save the tuna, other fish may be wiped out.

Then there is the cost of the operation. $48 million has been poured into the project so far, and you can be sure that millions more will be pumped in before it witnesses any real commercial success. And what is the money being spent on? Airlifting 400 pound tuna fish from the seas into tanks, flat-screen monitors to track the progress of the tuna 24/7 and equipment that replicate the conditions of the ocean so the fish don’t get too stressed. Am I the only one to whom this all sounds a little ridiculous?

How about this for a real solution to the bluefin dilemma: the world comes to its senses, puts the tuna in the faux-ocean tanks back in the real ocean and implements a moratorium on bluefin fishing. And as for that $48 million, now that can be used to address some of the real problems facing us. Poverty, AIDS, malnutrition, environmental pollution…

 If anyone has any thoughts on the bluefin debate, please jump in…  

 
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  1. collapse expand
    5:48 pm on 07/08/09
    libtree09
    libtree09

    It is difficult to understand the Japanese when it comes to the ocean. Their culture is dependent on it and they have managed to exploit that dependency all over the world. In the Gulf of California in Mexico the Japanese wiped out the shark population with giant factory ships, a huge problem for the local fishermen. They still kill whales and now poised to wipe out blue fin tuna. These are not ignorant fishermen, they must be aware of the consequences.

    The last defense I heard, which may be true, is that it is the west’s problem, if sushi had not become such a worldwide phenomenon there would be plenty…for them. So I suppose they are waiting for us to take it off the menu and we should.

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  2. collapse expand
    11:02 am on 07/09/09
    Nadia Arumugam Nadia Arumugam Chew on This

    That’s amazing that the proliferation of an ethnic cuisine as a global phenomenon could be offered as a valid explanation for the wiping out of a species of animal! Still the fact that 80% of blue fin is consumed in Japan completely undermines this ridiculous assertion anyway…

    Can you imagine how dreary the world’s food scene would be if immigrants abandoned their national foods when they left their homes. I don’t even know what I’d eat in NYC it that was the case…

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  3. collapse expand
    12:05 pm on 07/09/09
    sbd1
    sbd1

    I just recently heard about the high demand for the Blue Fin Tuna by the Japanese when a friend of mine caught one and was offered thousands by a local Japanese resident here in San Diego.

    That being said, your statement

    This comprises of mackerel and sardines which are also dwindling in the seas. So how’s this for a paradox: to save the tuna, other fish may be wiped out.

    Where did you get this idea that mackeral and sardines in particular are dwindling? I can find no basis for this claim regarding the Sardine. My family in Sicily has been canning Sardines since the 1900’s and have always managed to stay in business. They might have to buy from Greece, ut the supply is not dwindling.

    This is especially true for the Pacific Sardine as evidenced by the information from the NOAA National Marine Fisheries website.

    Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax caerulea)

    Pacific sardine population levels are high, and no overfishing is occurring.

    The Pacific Fishery Management Council sets an annual quota for the harvest of Pacific sardine based on scientific assessments of the species.

    Sardines are very high in selenium and vitamin B12 and high in calcium, niacin, and phosphorus, but they are also high in cholesterol. For more information, see Nutrition Facts. (USDA)

    The Pacific sardine has experienced a remarkable comeback after populations dropped drastically in the 1950s. Today, this species and fishery are thriving once again.

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  4. collapse expand
    2:11 pm on 07/10/09
    shumgoodstuff
    shumgoodstuff

    Nadia, not sure if you’ve read this or not, but The New Yorker had a pretty interesting summary of new books coming out about the sustainability of food.

    Here is the link to the article: http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/atlarge/2008/05/19/080519crat_atlarge_wilson.

    In particular, they mention how the increasing Chinese middle class population are gradually finding their taste for Sushi – a classically yuppie food. Imagine what that would be like for the world’s fish stocks.

    @sbd1 – you should read the article as well as it does talk about fishing for carnivorous fish like Salmon, Tuna, etc. vs. fishing for herbivorous fish like Mackeral, Sardines, etc. and what it means for the environment.

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  5. collapse expand
    8:24 pm on 07/12/09
    Hive Mind Hive Mind True/Slant

    This globalization of sushi discussion reminds me of another interesting angle I read years ago, framed as investment advice for gourmands. If sushi restaurants have begun to pop up in a country, invest in that country. It means people have begun to trust each other with quality control, and the country is probably on the rise. It’s simplistic, sure, but… intriguing.

    I came across your post while finishing up my own bluefin thoughts, in case you’ve got an appetite for more -
    http://trueslant.com/hivemind/2009/07/12/rise-of-tuna-farms-fishy-at-best/

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  6. collapse expand
    9:24 am on 07/14/09
    johnguidry
    johnguidry

    I am very glad you go into the associated costs and effects up and down the chain of resources needed to create this aquaculture, a blind spot of technological hubris (however well-intended). I recall when I first discovered tuna sushi and sashemi — how I thought I was in heaven. Now, I find that the best way to honor that sensation is to try and tell myself to live simply and let the tuna (and other fish) come back on their own, in accord with the more complex systems they grew up with in the first place.

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    About Me

    Confused, perhaps. Well fed, definitely. A Malaysian of Tamil ethnicity, raised in London and now living in New York, I couldn’t have asked for a better culinary heritage. My Sunday roast is massaged with garlic, ginger and red chilies. My chicken soup is infused with heady coriander and the warmth of toasted cumin. My meatballs are transformed by a spattering of my mother’s curry powder and a glug of soy sauce.

    I live to eat and I eat to live. Quite literally. I write about food, who produces it, who cooks it and who eats it. Most recently I was the food editor for the London based culinary magazine, Fresh, and my first cookbook, Chop, Sizzle & Stir - the final word on stir frying - has recently hit the shelves. I have also written for numerous culinary and lifestyles magazines in the UK and in the Southeast Asia. When I'm not cooking, thinking about my next meal or eyeing up someone else's, I'm usually asleep!

    I’m fascinated by our culinary customs, traditions and innovations. The recipes we learn from our mothers, the treats we indulge in when no one’s looking and the meals we dish up for friends reveal who we are and who we want to be. So join me in this most delicious quest as I concoct, imbibe and ingest to understand that little bit more about my fellow diners!

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    Buy this must-have cookbook on Amazon. To read more about me and try out some of my recipes, visit my website www.nadia-arumugam.com