Sustainable Sushi
In recent times there has been an increased demand for fish, and fish populations have been unable to grow fast enough to combat this increase in demand. One type of food that has helped cause this increase in demand is the Japanese cuisine, sushi. Sushi has become a popular food choice for many individuals throughout the world, so many have begun to eat it on a regular basis. Sustainability should be looked at in three different categories: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability.
Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability is based on the idea that there is an exploitable resource that can be drawn upon over a period of time1.Many restaurant owners and fishermen are hesitant to change the current fisher practices for more environmentally friendly ones, as this would cause the price of fish to increase. This increase of price would come from fishermen using fishing techniques that harvest less fish, in order to reduce the amount of bykill, or using new technology, that helps detect any incoming bykill. Bykill are the marine organisms that are accidentally caught by fishermen. Many of these organisms, like dolphins, sharks and sea turtles, are endangered and need to be protected in order for their populations to grow. Currently the fishing industry is having financial issues, as it is not very profitable to harvest fish. In 1995 the fishing industry spent $125 billion in order to harvest $75 billion worth of fish. Government subsidies and legislation are the only reasons why most fishing companies are able to remain solvent. If fish prices were to increase, then sushi restaurants would be forced to increase their prices in order to compensate. For sushi restaurants to remain economically viable, they need to be able acquire their ingredients for a price that is relatively comparable to similar quality food.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability would mean that fish are not being overfished and that there is little to no pollution introduced into the ecosystem by fishing. This also means that the methods that fishermen use to extract fish should not have negative impacts on the environment.The popularity of sushi has lead to the overfishing of some species, either making them commercially extinct or extinct. If a fish is commercially extinct it means that it is no longer financially profitable for fishermen to target that species for harvest. A species usually becomes commercially extinct when the population of the fish is too small to support large scale commercial fishing operations. An species becomes extinct when there ceases to be any living examples of this species. There have been a few fish that have become commercially extinct, like the orange roughy, and if they are not protected they face the threat of becoming extinct. The manner in which fishermen extract fish has a large impact on the oceanic environment. Methods like gillnetting, purse seining and bottom trolling extract large numbers of fish and catch large quantities of bykill. Gillnetting is also dangerous to oceanic life as large quantities of the net have been known to break off and float throughout the ocean. These segments of nets, known as ghosts nets, ensnare large amounts of fish who ultimately die as they are unable to break away from the net. The maximum sustainable yield has already been reached so there would be a negative impact on a variety of fish populations, if the rate of fish harvesting continued to increase.
Social sustainability
Social sustainability is the idea that a community is able to sustain itself over a long period of time and have the ability to continue its cultural practices. Sushi and the fishing industry are important facets of Japanese life, so any changes in either of them will impact Japan’s social sustainability. Sushi is a major cultural aspect to many individuals around the world, especially in Japan. All changes in how sushi is made will have a tangible impact on the cultural practices in Japan. Social sustainability also relates to the impact these changes have on a community’s ability to financially sustain itself. If significant changes are made in harvesting fish, it would have a devastating impact on some community's ability to generate revenue. The Japanese people are heavily reliant on the fishing industry too for financial support. Many of the fish that the Japanese harvest, like the bluefin tuna, are endangered. Japan has a high demand for bluefin tuna, and has had fish of up to 342kg caught and sold there2. While protecting the oceanic life is important, protecting it would have a negative impact on the quality of life in Japan. Certain organizations are currently attempting to lessen the Sushi industry’s impact on marine life in order for the business to remain viable in the years to come.
Certain Marine life Affected
Two fish that many organizations are trying to protect are bluefin tuna and sharks34.Bluefin tuna populations have been greatly impacted by the sushi industry, as it is a common ingredient in many types of sushi. As their populations continue to dwindle, conservation methods must be taken in order to ensure that bluefin tuna continue to be a part of the ocean’s ecosystem. Activists are also concerned about sharks, as they are commonly caught by accident. These accidentally harvested fish, known as bykill, are usually the result of fishermen using gillnetting or bottom trolling for fish. Sharks are only one kind of bykill as sea turtles, and dolphins are also quite commonly caught by accident. While the technology is available to help fishermen prevent bykill, it is not frequently used due to the high cost. If detection technology reduces in price, it might become economically viable, but at the moment this technology is not utilized on a widespread basis. There are other endangered fish. like the orange roughy and chilean sea bass, that require monitoring and protecting in order for their populations to grow, but they are not commonly used in Sushi.
Dangers of Overfishing
Currently fish populations are unable to continue to grow faster than mankind is catching fish, and this is causing fish populations around the world to decline heavily. Current estimates suggest that the ocean is only capable of supplying 110-120 million tons of fish per year, and that if any more than this is taken from the ocean, there are negative effects on fish populations5. In 1998 it was reported that 79.6 million tons of fish were caught by fishing vessels around the world. However, these numbers do not include illegal fishing or the bykill that the fishermen accidentally caught. With these numbers taken into consideration, it means that we have either reached or surpassed the maximum sustainable yield. Once this threshold has been surpassed, it means that fish populations will begin to dwindle and fish will become much more scarce. If this were to occur, it would not only cause the price of sushi to go up, but many key sushi ingredients could very well go extinct. This would also have effects of sea creatures that are currently not being harvested for food. The ocean is a complex food web in which a variety of creatures are dependent on one another for food and other functions crucial to life. If fish were removed from the ecosystem, the food web will collapse, causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
Involved Organizations
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium is an organization that is attempting to educating the public on sustainable eating practices. The aquarium had a variety of resources to help individuals make better choices when they are selecting which fish to consume. The aquarium posts a list of which fish are safe to eat because their capture does not have destroy the ecosystem. The aquarium also provides a list of restaurants that adhere to ocean safe practices as well a variety of recipes that use ocean friendly ingredients6. One restaurant chain that is attempting to change the existing harvest patterns of fish is Tataki, a restaurant chain in San Francisco7. The restaurant is owned and operated by chefs who want sustainable fishing to become a common practice throughout the world. One of the restaurants founders, Casson Trenor, wrote the book Sustainable Sushi, and is an ardent advocate for sustainable sushi8. While having success in San Francisco the owners wish to expand the franchise and bring sustainable sushi throughout the United States. They want to help provide a framework that other restaurants can follow and create a menu based on environmentally sustainable practices.
Ways to get involved
Consumers can impact oceanic life by supporting environmentally sustainable practices. Consumers can choose to eat sushi that does not use endangered or overfished fish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has posted a list that states which fish are in healthy supply and whose harvest does not endanger the population of other fish9. This list is only one of the many tools that environmental groups have published in order to further educate people on sustainable fishing practices. Consumers can also choose to refuse to patronize sushi restaurants that use ingredients that negatively harm the environment.
1 http://www.sustainablesushi.net/learn-more/what-is-sustainability/
2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-16421231
3 http://www.sustainablesushi.net/
4 http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx
5 Essentials of oceanography. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.
6http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
7 http://www.tatakisushibar.com/index-1.html
8http://www.sustainablesushi.net/learn-more/about/
9 http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx
In recent times there has been an increased demand for fish, and fish populations have been unable to grow fast enough to combat this increase in demand. One type of food that has helped cause this increase in demand is the Japanese cuisine, sushi. Sushi has become a popular food choice for many individuals throughout the world, so many have begun to eat it on a regular basis. Sustainability should be looked at in three different categories: economic sustainability, environmental sustainability and social sustainability.
Economic Sustainability
Economic sustainability is based on the idea that there is an exploitable resource that can be drawn upon over a period of time1.Many restaurant owners and fishermen are hesitant to change the current fisher practices for more environmentally friendly ones, as this would cause the price of fish to increase. This increase of price would come from fishermen using fishing techniques that harvest less fish, in order to reduce the amount of bykill, or using new technology, that helps detect any incoming bykill. Bykill are the marine organisms that are accidentally caught by fishermen. Many of these organisms, like dolphins, sharks and sea turtles, are endangered and need to be protected in order for their populations to grow. Currently the fishing industry is having financial issues, as it is not very profitable to harvest fish. In 1995 the fishing industry spent $125 billion in order to harvest $75 billion worth of fish. Government subsidies and legislation are the only reasons why most fishing companies are able to remain solvent. If fish prices were to increase, then sushi restaurants would be forced to increase their prices in order to compensate. For sushi restaurants to remain economically viable, they need to be able acquire their ingredients for a price that is relatively comparable to similar quality food.
Environmental Sustainability
Environmental sustainability would mean that fish are not being overfished and that there is little to no pollution introduced into the ecosystem by fishing. This also means that the methods that fishermen use to extract fish should not have negative impacts on the environment.The popularity of sushi has lead to the overfishing of some species, either making them commercially extinct or extinct. If a fish is commercially extinct it means that it is no longer financially profitable for fishermen to target that species for harvest. A species usually becomes commercially extinct when the population of the fish is too small to support large scale commercial fishing operations. An species becomes extinct when there ceases to be any living examples of this species. There have been a few fish that have become commercially extinct, like the orange roughy, and if they are not protected they face the threat of becoming extinct. The manner in which fishermen extract fish has a large impact on the oceanic environment. Methods like gillnetting, purse seining and bottom trolling extract large numbers of fish and catch large quantities of bykill. Gillnetting is also dangerous to oceanic life as large quantities of the net have been known to break off and float throughout the ocean. These segments of nets, known as ghosts nets, ensnare large amounts of fish who ultimately die as they are unable to break away from the net. The maximum sustainable yield has already been reached so there would be a negative impact on a variety of fish populations, if the rate of fish harvesting continued to increase.
Social sustainability
Social sustainability is the idea that a community is able to sustain itself over a long period of time and have the ability to continue its cultural practices. Sushi and the fishing industry are important facets of Japanese life, so any changes in either of them will impact Japan’s social sustainability. Sushi is a major cultural aspect to many individuals around the world, especially in Japan. All changes in how sushi is made will have a tangible impact on the cultural practices in Japan. Social sustainability also relates to the impact these changes have on a community’s ability to financially sustain itself. If significant changes are made in harvesting fish, it would have a devastating impact on some community's ability to generate revenue. The Japanese people are heavily reliant on the fishing industry too for financial support. Many of the fish that the Japanese harvest, like the bluefin tuna, are endangered. Japan has a high demand for bluefin tuna, and has had fish of up to 342kg caught and sold there2. While protecting the oceanic life is important, protecting it would have a negative impact on the quality of life in Japan. Certain organizations are currently attempting to lessen the Sushi industry’s impact on marine life in order for the business to remain viable in the years to come.
Certain Marine life Affected
Two fish that many organizations are trying to protect are bluefin tuna and sharks34.Bluefin tuna populations have been greatly impacted by the sushi industry, as it is a common ingredient in many types of sushi. As their populations continue to dwindle, conservation methods must be taken in order to ensure that bluefin tuna continue to be a part of the ocean’s ecosystem. Activists are also concerned about sharks, as they are commonly caught by accident. These accidentally harvested fish, known as bykill, are usually the result of fishermen using gillnetting or bottom trolling for fish. Sharks are only one kind of bykill as sea turtles, and dolphins are also quite commonly caught by accident. While the technology is available to help fishermen prevent bykill, it is not frequently used due to the high cost. If detection technology reduces in price, it might become economically viable, but at the moment this technology is not utilized on a widespread basis. There are other endangered fish. like the orange roughy and chilean sea bass, that require monitoring and protecting in order for their populations to grow, but they are not commonly used in Sushi.
Dangers of Overfishing
Currently fish populations are unable to continue to grow faster than mankind is catching fish, and this is causing fish populations around the world to decline heavily. Current estimates suggest that the ocean is only capable of supplying 110-120 million tons of fish per year, and that if any more than this is taken from the ocean, there are negative effects on fish populations5. In 1998 it was reported that 79.6 million tons of fish were caught by fishing vessels around the world. However, these numbers do not include illegal fishing or the bykill that the fishermen accidentally caught. With these numbers taken into consideration, it means that we have either reached or surpassed the maximum sustainable yield. Once this threshold has been surpassed, it means that fish populations will begin to dwindle and fish will become much more scarce. If this were to occur, it would not only cause the price of sushi to go up, but many key sushi ingredients could very well go extinct. This would also have effects of sea creatures that are currently not being harvested for food. The ocean is a complex food web in which a variety of creatures are dependent on one another for food and other functions crucial to life. If fish were removed from the ecosystem, the food web will collapse, causing irreparable damage to the ecosystem.
Involved Organizations
The Monterrey Bay Aquarium is an organization that is attempting to educating the public on sustainable eating practices. The aquarium had a variety of resources to help individuals make better choices when they are selecting which fish to consume. The aquarium posts a list of which fish are safe to eat because their capture does not have destroy the ecosystem. The aquarium also provides a list of restaurants that adhere to ocean safe practices as well a variety of recipes that use ocean friendly ingredients6. One restaurant chain that is attempting to change the existing harvest patterns of fish is Tataki, a restaurant chain in San Francisco7. The restaurant is owned and operated by chefs who want sustainable fishing to become a common practice throughout the world. One of the restaurants founders, Casson Trenor, wrote the book Sustainable Sushi, and is an ardent advocate for sustainable sushi8. While having success in San Francisco the owners wish to expand the franchise and bring sustainable sushi throughout the United States. They want to help provide a framework that other restaurants can follow and create a menu based on environmentally sustainable practices.
Ways to get involved
Consumers can impact oceanic life by supporting environmentally sustainable practices. Consumers can choose to eat sushi that does not use endangered or overfished fish. The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has posted a list that states which fish are in healthy supply and whose harvest does not endanger the population of other fish9. This list is only one of the many tools that environmental groups have published in order to further educate people on sustainable fishing practices. Consumers can also choose to refuse to patronize sushi restaurants that use ingredients that negatively harm the environment.
1 http://www.sustainablesushi.net/learn-more/what-is-sustainability/
2 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-pacific-16421231
3 http://www.sustainablesushi.net/
4 http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx
5 Essentials of oceanography. 6th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1999. Print.
6http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx
7 http://www.tatakisushibar.com/index-1.html
8http://www.sustainablesushi.net/learn-more/about/
9 http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_regional.aspx