Charlie The Tuna

Remember Charlie, the tuna who was perpetually confused about the difference between good taste and tasting good? If you have no recollection, congratulations, you are too young to share this memory.

Charlie would have been astounded to hear that a bluefin tuna sold at auction in Japan for 1.76 million dollars recently. That works out to about $3500 a pound. The Japanese consume 80% of the annual global harvest of bluefin, a species which is threatened by over fishing. Canadian bluefin tuna is prized, with a single large fish weighing close to a thousand pounds. The trouble is, these tuna are becoming increasingly scarce.

Coincidentally, today the program Land and Sea looked at the challenge of the diminishing Canadian tuna fishery. Some are calling for a total ban, and the bluefin may go on the endangered species list. Others are looking for alternatives. Some fishermen are now running catch-and-release sport fishing trips which generate revenue without killing the tuna. They also make catch trops but the sport fishery allows them to make a living without destroying the resource.

There is a small shrine in the sprawling fish market in Tokyo, a venue where millions of dollars of seafood is sold daily. Perhaps if would make more sense for the Japanese government to prayerfully encourage a different approach to consumption, one which bring about sustainability. The way it looks now, the bluefin tuna could disappear, so why not find a different approach?

Have you heard about this fishery? What are your thoughts?