Pirate Tuna
Illegal fishing is destroying tune stocks
The majority of tuna is destined for the multi-million dollar Japanese market. Tuna is so overfished that some species are becoming endangered.
In Tokyo a chef prepares fresh tuna steak. Nowhere is demand higher than here. Some species of tuna are now becoming endangered. “Bluefin tuna is very, very depleted”, says Greenpeace. Despite international efforts to stop the trade, pirate fishing has doubled in the last ten years. With shiploads of illegal tuna arriving in Japan daily there are fears that the pirates cannot be stopped, “Europe catches too many small fish like shrimp... it is wrong that they should then turn round and say that it is wrong to fish whales, or tuna”, says one restaurant owner in Tokyo. This feature highlights the many legal loopholes allowing pirate fishing to flourish.
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