... After the movie won, the town government issued a short news release. "There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world," the statement read. "It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories." <...> "There are some countries that eat cows, and there are other countries that eat whales or dolphins," said Yutaka Aoki, fisheries division director at the Foreign Ministry. "A film about slaughtering cows or pigs might also be unwelcome to workers in that industry."
... After the movie won, the town government issued a short news release.
"There are different food traditions within Japan and around the world," the statement read. "It is important to respect and understand regional food cultures, which are based on traditions with long histories."
<...>
"There are some countries that eat cows, and there are other countries that eat whales or dolphins," said Yutaka Aoki, fisheries division director at the Foreign Ministry. "A film about slaughtering cows or pigs might also be unwelcome to workers in that industry."
Dolphins, in addition to being food, are also recognized in Taiji as crowd pleasers with their playful natures, leading to odd contrasts. Taiji fishermen capture some to sell to aquariums, and the area is dotted with ocean cages offering dolphin bonding sessions. "Dolphin Base" charges 2,000 yen ($22) for a 20-minute session less than half a mile from the cove where hundreds of the animals are stabbed and dragged ashore in the annual hunt. Like most residents of Taiji, the dolphin trainers repeatedly avoided talking to a foreign reporter - one young woman ran away when asked her opinion. At the nearby Dolphin Resort, a modern hotel complex with its own dolphin pool, manager Kiyo Ikeda agreed to be interviewed, as long as there were no questions about dolphins.
Like most residents of Taiji, the dolphin trainers repeatedly avoided talking to a foreign reporter - one young woman ran away when asked her opinion. At the nearby Dolphin Resort, a modern hotel complex with its own dolphin pool, manager Kiyo Ikeda agreed to be interviewed, as long as there were no questions about dolphins.
Japan Objects to Proposed Bluefin Tuna Ban - WSJ.com
... "We aren't convinced bluefin tuna should be thrown in the same league as the tiger and the giant panda, whose populations number in thousands," Mr. Endo [Hisashi, a negotiator from Japan's Fisheries Agency] said in an interview. ... Japanese officials say other tuna-eating nations like South Korea and developing countries along the Atlantic and the Mediterranean will also likely disregard the ban, though none has formally lodged opposition to the proposal like Japan has. The European Union has expressed support for the ban but proposed changes that would make it less strict. ...
... "We aren't convinced bluefin tuna should be thrown in the same league as the tiger and the giant panda, whose populations number in thousands," Mr. Endo [Hisashi, a negotiator from Japan's Fisheries Agency] said in an interview.
... Japanese officials say other tuna-eating nations like South Korea and developing countries along the Atlantic and the Mediterranean will also likely disregard the ban, though none has formally lodged opposition to the proposal like Japan has.
The European Union has expressed support for the ban but proposed changes that would make it less strict. ...
Kinki University in Oshima, Japan has a maguro farming program, but even if that becomes commercially viable:
The Kinki University bluefin are not completely eco-friendly. Tuna eat a massive amount, approximately 10 percent of their weight per day. The fish are fed wild mackerel by the truckload. Hardly eco-friendly, say critics. Greenpeace says a far better solution is to educate the diner and get them to stop eating bluefin tuna. That won't work, says Okada, who points out there's a multi-billion dollar worldwide market for tuna. Okada says the university is working on a vegetable protein to feed their farmed tuna to make it a greener choice. "I think it's very difficult for people to stop eating bluefin tuna completely. We should be balanced in our solution." <...> The WWF predicts Mediterranean bluefin will be wiped out by 2012 because of overfishing to sate the appetite of gourmet diners. 'Ranching' tuna the eco-friendly way - CNN.com
The Kinki University bluefin are not completely eco-friendly.
Tuna eat a massive amount, approximately 10 percent of their weight per day. The fish are fed wild mackerel by the truckload. Hardly eco-friendly, say critics. Greenpeace says a far better solution is to educate the diner and get them to stop eating bluefin tuna.
That won't work, says Okada, who points out there's a multi-billion dollar worldwide market for tuna. Okada says the university is working on a vegetable protein to feed their farmed tuna to make it a greener choice.
"I think it's very difficult for people to stop eating bluefin tuna completely. We should be balanced in our solution."
The WWF predicts Mediterranean bluefin will be wiped out by 2012 because of overfishing to sate the appetite of gourmet diners.
'Ranching' tuna the eco-friendly way - CNN.com
I've had several arguments with people I know who farm fish about its sustainability. Any food stuff that requires catching large amount of wild animals to produce is not going to work. Perhaps we should measure farm efficiency by the total number of square metres required to operate the farm without fossil subsidies or wild resources per kg of yield. So a low intensive organic farm might be 1m^2/kg, a chicken farm 10m^2/kg, a beef farm 100m^2/kg and a salmon farm 100000m^2/kg
... Mr. Psihoyos's team -- a far-flung band of activists who use film making to highlight environmental causes -- knew they would be together in Los Angeles for the Oscars, and so sting operations two and three were hatched. On Feb. 28, team members split up between the sushi bar and a restaurant table and ordered sushi and communicated via text message with Mr. Psihoyos, who waited in a car in the parking lot. Mr. Psihoyos served as an electronic envoy between the investigators at the sushi bar, who were witnessing the chopping of fish and whale, and those sitting at a table: "They're eating blowfish!" read one of the text messages. "Toro and sea urchin, nothing exciting," another said. "Whale coming now!" Next waiters identified a meaty course of whale, referring to it at times by its Japanese name, kujira, at a cost of $60, according to a federal affidavit. (The total bill exceeded $600 for two, with very little sake.) ...
... Mr. Psihoyos's team -- a far-flung band of activists who use film making to highlight environmental causes -- knew they would be together in Los Angeles for the Oscars, and so sting operations two and three were hatched. On Feb. 28, team members split up between the sushi bar and a restaurant table and ordered sushi and communicated via text message with Mr. Psihoyos, who waited in a car in the parking lot. Mr. Psihoyos served as an electronic envoy between the investigators at the sushi bar, who were witnessing the chopping of fish and whale, and those sitting at a table:
"They're eating blowfish!" read one of the text messages. "Toro and sea urchin, nothing exciting," another said. "Whale coming now!"
Next waiters identified a meaty course of whale, referring to it at times by its Japanese name, kujira, at a cost of $60, according to a federal affidavit. (The total bill exceeded $600 for two, with very little sake.) ...
Let's see how 'not exciting' toro will be when bluefin disappear from the oceans forever and Hollywood hoity-toities have none left to eat. The march of civilizations is a series of defenses that man has put up against the dread of pure existence.
