Sushi: The Global Catch

Sushi’s hearth used to be restricted to Japan, perceived as bizarre or weird to outsiders. With one of the most extensive histories of its origin, sushi and sashimi have been traditionally considered a delicacy. In Japan, where sushi is highly reveled, the best of the best bluefin tuna can go for up to $400,000 USD per fish. The Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market, or more commonly known as the Tsukiji fish market, is the largest wholesale fish and seafood market in the world. Famous sushi masters, such as Jiro from Jiro Dreams of Sushi, exclusively buys from this fish market.

However, through the process of globalization, the sheer scale of the market for sushi has exploded in insurmountable numbers. This industry has dramatically impacted the global supply and demand of fish, specifically the bluefin tuna. Now spreading to ecumenes such as Russia, China, and even India, the ecological environment is struggling to keep up with the expensive palates of its consumers. The documentary, Sushi: The Global Catch, examines in depth what might just happen once the entire planet catches onto this trend.

Enjoyed in Texas at football matches or at high-end restaurants in bustling cities, sushi has certainly made its mark in our modern day culture. What many consumers fail to stop and think about is how their love for this exquisite dish may impact the future of our oceans. Bluefin tuna are apex predators, which means that they thrive on the top of their ecological food chain. They are predators with few to no predators of their own—except in this case, where their largest predators are humans. Prized for its fatty consistency, fishermen every day are hauling in tons and tons of Atlantic, Pacific, and Southern bluefin tuna. The danger that lurks in overfishing this tuna is that eventually once it’s all gone, we will be left with nothing but jellyfish and sea urchins. If the predator in a food chain disappears, the second level of the food chain will begin to overpopulate the high seas. They will then deplete the third level of the chain, which consequently will lead to them wiping themselves out due to starvation. So, not only is it detrimental to the survival of the bluefin tuna, but to its lower counterparts as well. This is the future that we will face if we don’t start taking responsibility of our gluttonous sushi habits, or at least find a solution to make it sustainable.

It’s truly terrifying to watch this documentary and hear that once this trend latches onto China, there’s no other answer but extinction for the bluefin tuna. At over 1.3 billion people, it’s no wonder that once sushi takes traction, extinction becomes a very real and scary possibility. The amount of tuna that swim our oceans now are only 20-30% of what used to populate the oceans only 50 years ago.

Now, there have been multiple efforts in trying to make sushi more sustainable. From restaurants that only serve what is considered sustainable fish to groundbreaking bluefin tuna hatcheries, hopefully a dent will be made in the journey towards repopulation.  

The largest obstacle that this process will face is changing the opinions of its consumers. While it’s possible to serve farmed tuna, there will be no doubt that some will still be willing to seek out wild bluefin tuna, regardless of the price. Humans are simply too obstinate to want to change their behaviors if it compromises their wants or needs.