Japan Wants to Protect Bluefin Tuna

The Pacific bluefin population has suffered staggering losses

A type of fish commonly used in sushi but declining in population across the Pacific Ocean will be getting a helping hand from Japan. The country's fisheries agency plans to institute oversight measures for fixed-net fishing practices in an attempt to curb the rapid drop-off in the bluefin tuna population, according to Nikkei Asian Review.

The market for bluefin tuna in Japan is a competitive one, especially with the high level of demand in the country and abroad. One restaurant mogul in Japan, Kiyoshi Kimura, routinely pays hundreds of thousands of dollars for the coveted fish, whose population has declined by 97 percent since the 1960s, as previously reported.

Japan is responsible for consuming 80 percent of the worldwide bluefin catch, and has set catch limits for bluefin, creating zones and quotas for net fishing. The fisheries agency has plans for new measures, including the institution of temporary fishing bans for particularly over-fished areas and set seasonal schedules for fishing regions across the country.

Another factor that is perhaps helping the bluefin cause is a growing popularity of meat in Japan. An aging population that has always favored seafood is eating less, and younger generations are apparently opting for beef with increasing frequency.

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