Big money stripping seas bareNew Zealand Herald, 12 June 2004In the exclusive sushi restaurants of Tokyo, Kobe and Osaka, hungry diners eagerly watch and wait. Maki and futo rolls are passed by as customers sit patiently with chopsticks poised. Then, on the appearance of one dish, they pounce. The tuna has arrived. ...
Its quality ensures it is the most expensive tuna, with prices reaching $2000 a kilogram. One fish fetched as much as $90,000. Rarity is another factor in its spiralling price. The Japanese love bluefin so much they have almost eaten it off the face of the Earth.
.. The effects on wild fisheries were devastating, he warned. ... "Some fish are caught, put in pens and shipped to Japan without being registered," said Staniford. "The experience of fish farming in other species is that rearing fish in high-density cages increases the concentration of pollutants in the flesh...."
