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Is banning international trade in such endangered fish species as bluefin tuna the most effective way to protect marine resources?

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I think this is a bad question. 'the most effective way' should be 'one on the most effective way.' I say no against 'the most effective way' but I say yes against 'one on the most effective way.'

6 ( +6 / -0 )

We experienced this already with the Cod moratorium here in Canada. Due to corporate interests it took until the stocks were so low to stop them, resulting in a full 20 years for stocks to return. This is a terrible lesson that should be remembered when dealing with this issue. Don't repeat it

If we start a tuna moratorium now, maybe there will be tuna in the future. As it happens we're just vacuuming up the rest of them and they're are not likely to survive. In particular tuna while eaten in Western countries, is primarily eaten in Japan and will be the litmus test of the meaning of conservation. Time to get into potatoes.

You're going to anyway

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Japan has Tuna fish farms(147 farms with over 1000pens) across Southern Japan and the numbers are growing. It delivers around 10,000 tonnes annually in which nearly half are fully cultivated from embryo and this trend is growing steadily.

<http://www.jfa.maff.go.jp/j/press/saibai/140331.html >

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Well, they banned international trade in ivory, which did have a somewhat positive effect although, it was already too late for many species of rhino and they just didn't have the genetic diversity to rebuild the populations. This is the same with many tuna species as well. Many marine biologists believe it is already too late to save the northern blue fin tuna and it's only a matter of time before their populations crash completely. For many years countries, especially Japan have been overfishing their quotas and exploiting the fish. They have put focus on taking onll the large healthy fish and left the smaller and weaker fish to maintain populations. As a result, many fish species are actually getting smaller, both in number and size. Sadly, even if northern blue fin tuna fishing and trade was banned today, it would be too late for them to recover.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

If people desire the tuna legal or not it will be available. Whenever money can be made it is, legal or not.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

No. The most EFFECTIVE way to protect marine resources is to ban ALL trade (not just international trade) until the species recovers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I would think the most effective way would be to ban fishing for them at all.... but I'm a novice at this type of think so I could be totally wrong.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

There is a fallacy in confusing "The most effective way," with "The 100% effective way".

No doubt banning bluefin fishing would result in a black market in tuna. That doesn't mean a ban with real penalties if caught and real oversight wouldn't be effective.

But that won't stop some people from breaking the law. Just like it won't stop people with an ideological bias against regulation in general or a self-centered desire to eat cheap bluefin even to the extinction of the species from pretending the imperfect law is a completely ineffective law.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Major money opportunity staring Japan in the face; create tuna farms. Come to Hokkaido; plenty of open land, open ocean. Human ingenuity will overcome the natural obstacles.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

You mean banning international trade but not banning fishing or domestic trade?

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Obviously the most effective way is to kindly ask the Japanese to cut their consumption by putting in place a domestic ban on the sale of the fish for the next 30 years.

Of course, there is less than a snowball's chance in hell of this happening, so we're going to have to go with the "extinction" option. And that is a shameful moniker the Japanese will have over their heads for and next few generations.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

MarkGMAY. 02, 2016 - 11:59AM JST If people desire the tuna legal or not it will be available. Whenever money can be made it is, legal or not.

Unfortunately true. Look at the trade in rhino horn and elephant ivory. Lots of destitute Africans willing to risk prison for poaching. Lots of African government officials, obviously, who can be bribed. And the Chinese, who buy the bulk of it, just couldn't care less.

So, tuna would be poached as well if there were an outright ban. If you can't get the Japanese public to understand what's wrong about the dolphin slaughter and whale hunting, you'll never raise public consciousness to favor even a moratorium so that stocks might rebuild.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@Tiriring - Japan has Tuna fish farms(147 farms with over 1000pens) across Southern Japan and the numbers are growing. It delivers around 10,000 tonnes annually in which nearly half are fully cultivated from embryo and this trend is growing steadily.

Yes, Japan does have blue fin tuna farms. They also buy a lot of farmed yellow fin tuna from Australia. However, the farmed fish are not popular and restaurants want fresh ocean fish, as do the consumers. Furthermore, the farmed fish only make up a small percentage of the annual consumption of blue fin tuna. These farmed fish are only for the domestic markets. To me, they should be using thee farm fish to rebuild ocean stocks instead of just filling freezers with them, but that would mean no money for the farmers. The yellow fin farms in southern Australia are a multi-billion dollar business. However, the point of these farms is to supplement commercial fishing. The yellow fin tuna is not in a population crisis and these farms support the populations. Unlike the Japanese farms, which are only there because the populations of blue fin have already crashed. "Only when man had cut down the last tree and eaten the last fish will he realise he cannot eat money!"

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Disillusioned

3/4 of Yellow tail or Buri sold in japan are from fish farms, 2/3 of sea bream are also from fish farms.Most all puffer fish and eels are from fish farms as well. So no Japanese does not discriminate fish from fish farms in fact most people really don't know if the fish is from a farm. As for blue fins do the math since or give show facts in numbers like I did.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

If people desire the tuna legal or not it will be available. Whenever money can be made it is, legal or not.

Because no one is jailed when caught (except the average taro of course). Stop the 90 degrees bow cultural Japanese "you caught us" and start to enforce the law with jail-time for J-INC perpetrators of wrongdoings and situation will radically change in Japan.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

It's an effective way for some nations, and that's maybe good enough, but unfortunately in Japan it'll be "an attack on our culture", and increased prices will make it only 'more delicious' and will keep demand roughly where it is. After all, how long has whaling been 'banned', right?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

It is working so well for elephants and rhinos.....

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Disillusioned

Nope the farmed tuna sells as much if not more due to price. Japanese does not discriminate whether it be from the wild or from the farm. as for small 10,000 tonnes is not small Japan's consumption of tuna all together is 480,000 tonnes in which the blue fin consists of only 32,0000 tonnes so 1/3 of the blue fins is farmed blue fins in Japan.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Tiriring - Japanese consumers DO discriminate against the farmed fish and the farmed fish do not make up 20% of the total blue fin consumption.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

What good is a ban if entire countries don't acknowledge and comply with it?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

If there's no market in Japan through a national ban then the world market doesn't have enough demand to threaten the species, so the market will die down.

Either eat potatoes now for a couple of decades while ALL the fish recuperate, or eat potatoes forevermore. Unfortunately Japan can't stop unless stopped so Nature will take its course before rationality occurs, if ever.

Hope you like potatoes

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I don't know anything, except they taste good.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

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