Tuna in Trouble

If Atlantic bluefin tuna becomes an endangered species, that’s big news. That will wake a lot of people up.

There I go, quoting myself again, this time from an AP article that’s been running on ABC News and numerous other outlets: “Sushi-Loving Japan Fears Push for Tuna Export Ban.”

This is a difficult issue, because popular opinion in Japan seems to interpret efforts to limit bluefin fishing as an attack by the West on Japanese culture. (Ditto for whaling.)

I feel that’s an interpretation that’s been pushed by Japanese business interests that have a stake in the bluefin trade, which is unfortunate.

Personally, I’m a big fan of Japanese culture, and I always point out that bluefin tuna isn’t really a traditional sushi ingredient at all. Go back a few decades and the authentic sushi culture of Japan actually valued other, smaller fish like breams, flounders, jacks, and mackerel.

But of course, in Japan I’m just a gaijin—an outsider. Never mind that I learned what I know about sushi from reading Japanese books in Japanese.