[QODLink]
101 East
Japan's love affair with fish
But with global stocks decimated and illegal fishing rife will it be off the menu?
Last Modified: 08 Feb 2008 10:31 GMT


In Japan, eating fish is a time honoured tradition, but has the nation with the seemingly insatiable appetite bitten off more than it can chew?

The news that some favourites and delicacies are in danger of disappearing from the menu is unpalatable if not downright distasteful.

Scientists in this fish farm run by a Japanese University are breeding Blue Fin Tuna
In Japan, illegal fishing is rife and Japan's notorious gangsters, the yakuza, are making a killing.

Yet these offenders are small fry compared to a heist on the high seas that has created an international scandal.

Japanese trawlers plundered more than 200,000 tonnes of southern blue fin tuna worth in excess of ten billion dollars.

Joining the show to discuss the threats posed to Japan's love affair with fish are Duncan Leadbitter, the regional director of the Asia Pacific Marine Stewardship Council, Nicola Beynon, a spokeswoman for the Humane Society International, and Masanori Miyahara from the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.

Watch part one of this episode of 101 East on YouTube

Watch part two of this episode of 101 East on YouTube

This episode of 101 East airs from Thursday, December 20, 2007

To contact us click on 'Send your feedback' at the top of the page

Watch Al Jazeera English programmes on YouTube

Join our debates on the Your Views page
Topics in this article
Country
Featured on Al Jazeera
More and more people in the US are living in poverty - yet Mitt Romney's policies would further shred the safety net.
As the anniversary of the uprising nears, the country's rulers are denying foreigners entry and hiring PR firms.
Under Obama, six whistleblowers have been charged under the World War I-era Espionage Act.
Journalist who recently spent time with fighters says there is no central leadership to the armed resistance.
<  > 
join our mailing list

Enter Zip Code
Go