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
