513-pound tuna auctioned for $177,000

[Submariner]

I got into a fisheries career in the 70's. I was an idealist and was going to save the environment. Then, Haddock were plentiful, but the U.S. worried about Russian mother ships overfishing the resource. And the general public worried that they may have to eat -- heaven forbid -- Cod, known to get wormy easily if haddock were depleted.

And here I am a short lifetime later, and ALL 14 of worlds major fishing areas (Grand Banks, Georges Bank, etc) have been overfished to levels approaching depletion. It's a sad story for the human race when a single tuna sells for the cost of a house. In plain language, when it comes to the quality of the environment and natural resources, we are handing off a huge clusterf*ck of a mess to decedents.



TOKYO - A huge bluefin tuna fetched $177,000 in an auction yesterday at the world’s largest wholesale fish market in Japan.

The 513-pound fish was the priciest since 2001 when a 440-pound tuna sold for a record $220,000 at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market. The tuna was bought and shared by the owners of a Japanese sushi restaurant and a Hong Kong-based sushi bar, said a market representative on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the information.

Caught off the coast of northern Japan, the big tuna was among 570 put up for auction yesterday. About 40 percent of the tuna came from abroad, including from Indonesia and Mexico, the representative said.

Japan is the world’s biggest consumer of seafood with Japanese eating 80 percent of the Atlantic and Pacific bluefins caught. The two species are the most sought after by sushi-lovers.

snip >

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2010/01/06/513_pound_tuna_auctioned_for_177000/

[Captain Hilts]

1. I wanted to be an icthyologist until I found out I wouldn't be able to take a class

in icthyology until graduate school. So, I became a political scientist.

I have no idea how to spell 'icthyology', so it's probably just as well I didn't go into that field.

To this day I go into a rage when ocean life is referred to as 'stock' as in 'livestock'. No, they're wildlife too.

OR when someone says "I'm a vegetarian, but I'll eat seafood."

[Gold Metal Flake]

2. The future holds a gleeful auction for the last bluefin.

The buyer will be smiling in the pictures. The talking heads will babble.

[zbdent]

4. how about the blue crab?

Weren't they harvested to the point where they may become extinct?

[fishnfla]

6. the stocks in cheasapeake bay are in peril

many causes, including overfishing

there are blue crabs a plenty in florida nad gulf coast states

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Submariner.

[shireen]

5. i wonder how old it was

a fish that big must have lived a long life, managing to dodge the nets until he was finally caught.

i've switched to only buying line-caught tuna. It's expensive, $5 per small can. But i can afford to do it, and am glad to support this method of sustainable fishing. The by-catch from net fishing is heartbreaking. :(

[jmowreader]

10. He was probably around 10 years old

They pulled this guy out of the Pacific, where bluefins grow relatively slowly. Note the weasel word here. In the Atlantic, a 500-pound bluefin is nothing special; the record Atlantic bluefin is over 1400 lbs and thousand-pounders are caught on a regular basis.

In reality, these fish get as big as they do because of their range and eating habits. Bluefin tuna have the widest range of any fish, and they are EXTREMELY predatory. More so than sharks. Big ones avoid getting caught because, like sharks, they don't sleep; if they stop swimming they sink to the bottom...and their burst speed is around 70 knots.

Fun Fishy Fact: the bluefin tuna is the only warmblooded fish.

[shireen]

11. amazing!

thanks for the info. Tuna are remarkable fish. All deep-sea fish, for that matter, never cease to amaze me. Actually, i love and admire all fish -- i'm a fish nut with two aquariums. :)

[AngryAmish]

7. This makes me mad

THere are so many ways to fill our fat bellies without catching the few large fish out there.

[Gregorian]

8. And of course this is unrelated to population of the human.

Don't tell me. Let me guess. There's lots more room for lots more humans.

Like global warming, I predict (YEESS, I PREDICT!), something kind of bad in our future. Oh hell, I just can't post serious stuff any more. It's like nobody really cares. Besides, I bought a 4000 psi pressure washer today.

[pinniped]

9. These sushi lovers will have to eat farmed catfish sashimi when the big tunas are gone forever.

..