Eating bluefin tuna is like eating a tiger – both are considered endangered, but only one can be found in AYCE restaurants
a conversation with Lucy and Ali Tabrizi, directors of the Netflix documentary Seaspiracy, on why local traditions and the unsustainable business behind everyone’s favourite fish are destroying marine life
m nn 7Ia i rbml i biuIymba mbhi bimh mlI ydymIw mb6 yn calmIo ht hnvlbiy bi ; beb 6 oobI out as a form of pest-control due to the cetaceans eating too many fish in the area. The cou ple then researched the lucrative trade of species such as bluefin tuna and sharks, uncovering various marine crimes; ranging from slavery at sea to illegal fishing in West African waters.
Seaspiracy the Netflix documentary by Ali and Lucy Tabrizi r y 6obmb6bpI bi mlI wI b cI mh vIo6IbuI bi 66co 6bIy .nb ; 7obpb IfvnhoIy he film has been well received around the world, but a documentary like :I yvbo 6d was bound to get some criticism. The main critique we’ve seen has been focused on one fact in the film, which demonstrates that if current fishing trends continue, we could see virtually empty oceans by the year 2048. This became a scapegoat, which some used to discredit the entire film. The study has never been retracted and has been cited well over 3,000 times. The study was very Euro-centric and excluded African and Asian waters which have seen massive levels of depletion. This has led experts in ocean conservation, such as Captain Paul Watson, to believe that 2048 is an optimistic prediction, and that fish populations could collapse much sooner. Whether the year is 2048, 2058 or 2068, we are going in the wrong direction for our oceans, and this splitting of hairs is creating a distraction which only serves to allow business as usual». Ali explains how some of the criticism of the film originated from people within the fishing industry, or from scientists whose pay-checgy 6hwI from the fishing industry. This is not surprising and is very similar to what happened with the 0ffhi y6 i n bi mlI : rlIoI ombi 2httIom T thowIo 0ffhi tci I oIyI o6lIo T by
6nhyI lhr y6bIimbymy rIoI v b 7d mlI hbn 6hwv id mh 6n bw ml m mlI biscbod oIa o bia rlImlIo thyybn tcIny rIoI l ubia i IttI6m hi anh7 n 6nbw mI r y bi6hi6ncybuI
Overfishing deniers seem to fall into the same category as climate-change deniers, but why would one deny that the fishing industry is destroying marine life in the face of so much evi
Ii6I- i i bi bub c n nIuIn c6d ; 7obpb 7InbIuIy w id vIhvnI oI oInc6m im mh wh btd mlIbo l 7bmy, he biggest barrier is getting enough people to care about the cause, so as to revise their habits. You need to reach enough numbers to create a tipping point that achieves tangible change; after that industry follows» .nb y erhaps the most powerful thing we can all do every single day to protect the ocean, and the rest of the living world, is to adopt a plant-based diet. When we’re discussing the impact that our food choices have, many of us feel uncomfortable as it involves taking on personal responsibility and changing the food we eat. When we’re talking about the shift to a plant-based diet, that can take real effort when you first begin but, fortunately, vegan alternatives are becoming cheaper and more available»
On an institutional level, the reluctance to change may be linked to the fact that the fishing bi cymod is highly profitable, bi bm aIiIo mI 7bnnbhi : hnn oy i 7d mlI dI o
bm by voI b6mI mh oI 6l 7bnnbhi : hnn oy .y lbalnbalmI bi Seaspiracy, bluefin tuna is one of the most lucrative species of fish in the world, with the most expensive spec
bwIi 7Ibia yhn m wbnnbhi : hnn oy mh v iIyI ycylb md6hhi bi my whiIm od u ncI bi 6Iom bi w ogImy 6 i 7I nbigI mh bmy o vb nd I6nbibia ymh6gy, cI mh bmy y6 o6bmd in some countries the value of the flesh of bluefin tuna can be compared to that of gold.
;lby ylhom aI by tcomlIo If 6Io7 mI 7d mlI t 6m ml m mci 6 iihm 7I t owI inbgI y nwhi mci n ou I oI iI ond bwvhyyb7nI mh o byI tohw y6o m6l :6bIimbymy l uI 7IIi IfvIobwIim bia bi mlby yI6mho 7cm mlIoI oI rb I o iaI ht voh7nIwy 1boymnd bm by uIod l o mh voh c6I tuna eggs in captivity and even more difficult to hatch the juveniles. For example, in 2011 a n 7 bi v i r y oI6ho I mh l uI 7bnnbhi Iaay u bn 7ne, however only 200,000 fingerlings rIoI 7hoi 2 m6lbia bs not the only complication; when kept in close quarters, bluefin tuna are IfvhyI mh icw7Io ht whom nbmd obygy o iabia tohw 6 iib7 nbyw mh I ml cI mh r nn 6hnnbybhiy 6 cyI 7d nhr oImbi n IuInhvwIim c6d ; 7obpb Ifvn biy hey have tried to farm bluefin tuna,
it’s proving extremely difficult. They’re one of the largest commercially caught fish so they are sought after, global appetite for sushi and its status as a luxurious species does not help. Of course, scarcity is part of it, there is actually a name for that: it’s called the economics of extinction, where the less available a species is, the more its value goes up» T lbalnbalmbia lhr
I6nbibia wild stocks due to overfishing is pushing the price of bluefin higher each year.
Bluefin tuna is not just popular in Japan ;le eastern Atlantic bluefin migrates through the
I bmIoo iI i I 6l dI o rlIoI bm 6hwIy mh yv ri bmy Iaay i m nd nhiaym i bia mo bmbhi al form of tuna fishing has developed called la Tonnara. La Tonnara is an annual event which revolves around bluefin tuna migration during the months ranging from April to September. It is an ancient method of fishing T voh7 7nd 7ohcalm huIo 7d mlI lhIib6b iy mh :v bi i Sicily during the period of Ottoman influence T ml m 6hiybymy ht mlI 6hiymoc6mbhi ht 6hwvnIf n 7dobiml ht iImy ml m 6cnwbi mI bi I ml 6l w7Io rlIoI mlI 6 m6l r y mo bmbhi nnd yn cal mIoI bi vo 6mb6I 6 nnI mattanza. Bluefin tuna migrate along a well-worn path i y mlI fish navigate, the wind and currents push them along their way until they eventually become Iim ianI bi mlI ymo mIab6 nnd vn 6I iImy ;h d mlI bi m nd oI lI ubnd oIacn mI
Due to overfishing, bluefin tuna has been classified as an endangered species by the Interna mbhi n ibhi tho hiyIou mbhi ht mcoI i y oIycnm mlI 0cohvI i ibhi l y m gIi ymIvy mh vohmI6m bm 0uIod mrh dI oy yyIyywIimy oI w I hi bmy sc imbmbIy i hi mlby 7 yby quotas are assigned to different European countries and different fishing organizations within mlhyI 6hcimobIy .y 6hiyIscIi6I w id ht mlI mo bmbhi n l uI by vvI oI tmIo 7Ibia ci 7nI mh yI6coI schm y T yc6l y by mlI 6 yI bi 1 ubai i :b6bnd T ho l uI oIyhomI to catching different species of fish – as by mlI 6 yI bi whanb bacob ;h d mlI n oaIym whym nhiaym i bia i n ym ycoububia bi m nd by lIn iic nnd bi onhthomI : o bib
;h m gI 6nhyIo nhhg m mlI m nb i tradition and its impact on bluefin tuna, we visited
whanb i onhthomI biuIymba mbia mlI bimob6 6bIy ht mlby nc6o mbuI 7cybiIyy ;lI nh6 mbhiy l uI l mrh uIod bttIoIim IfvIobIi6Iy onhthomI by mlI n ym m nb i mh 7I nnh6 mI with tuna quotas, while Camogli has maintained its fishing method, but captures different species: such as amberjack, swordfish and sea bream. It is hard to control what species you catch in such a complex chamber of underwater nets that can be up to five kilometers loia
i nmlhcal whanb l y ih schm y bm by biIubm 7nI ml m mlId 6 vmcoI yhwI yvI6bwIiy ht mci 7d wbym gI . yIuIimy-five-year-old fisherman, who has been participating in the
for over fifty years says, there is a lot of tuna here, but we can’t fish them because we don’t have quotas. Last week, we had to release almost a ton of live tuna, but if by mistake you pull up a dead one, you must come to the port authority’s office and fill out various forms to declare it as accidental bycatch. Then you have to keep it in the fridge, and eventually someone will come and pick it up and donate it to charity. We prefer to drop them dead on the seafloor, unfortunately. Some people secretly take them, but you have to cut them into pieces, hide them and that’s not good. This way you feel like you’re going to steal, not going to work. Yesterday, and the day before yesterday, we let a few go. The smallest was fifty kilograms, but sometimes we catch the 400 kilogram ones, and that has a value that makes it difficult to just let go»
. dhciaIo fisherman of forty-five-years-old, who has been active in the tho mlI v ym fifteen years adds, he state protects tuna to give it time to replenish, but this leads us to sink the tuna we catch accidentally. There is a slow and complicated bureaucratic process in the harbor master’s office so, if we catch bluefin which later dies in the nets, we sink it to the seafloor. If you get caught with a dead tuna on you, you get a 10,000 euro fine but you can only sell the fish for about 1,000 euros, so it really isn’t worth the risk in the end» ;lby ybmc
mbhi by oIycnm ht 6hw7bi mbhi ht bi bub c n bi bttIoIi6I Iwhmbu mbhi ynhr v vIo 7 yI 7coI c6o mb6 voh6IyyIy i n 6g ht whiIm od bi6IimbuI T 7I6 cyI mlIoI by ih I6hihwb6 return for donating bluefin bycatch, fishermen feel unmotivated to do the extra work for noth bia m by 6nI o by the wasteful result, that the legislation is not efficient. And so is the method of fishing T cobia bm by bwvhyyb7nI mh 6himohn rl m yrbwy bimh dhco iIm i whanb l y lbal o mI ht 7d6 m6l ;lI icw7Io ht 66b Iim n 6 vmcoIy ht ihi 6hwwIo6b n ho vohmI6m I yvI6bIy l y 7IIi bwbibylbia bi mlI n ym mrIimd dI oy; not because fishing methods have become more efficient, but because of lessening qc imbmbIy ht w obiI nbtI
In Carloforte, Sardinia, on the other hand, the main capture is bluefin tuna, as they are 7ddtfol 7 bon ouw7ao tc wio 2w7dv7u wpu7 sptw7? 7ul 7u 7bwpno 7ul ?odd wio ?bo vo? doa7ddq ;io v? 7nnvol tpw 7 tnlvua wt wio ?7ro ?wnp wpno vu fiv i vw f7? ?ow pb vu
7ul nor7vu? 7 bnvg7wo c7rvdq 8p?vuo?? wt wiv? l7q ;io 7v? tn wio lvno wtn tc wio v? ?odo wol 8q wio c7rvdq, who closely oversee the fishing efforts and tell us more about the bnt o?? ,there are about thirty or thirty-five people that work here. We clean the fish and can the tuna in oil ourselves – we do everything here ourselves. During the Sixties we had to stop because an aluminium factory opened and kept dumping it’s waste directly into the sea. The color turned from blue to brown. Then the boss took them to court, and in the Nineties we started up again» wion wi7u btddpwvtu wiv? ctn ol 8no7h r7q i7go 7d?t 8oou lpo wt declining catches. A local fisherman who is not part of the 8pw fit noapd7ndq 7?w? iv? uow? vu wio -7ndtctnwo 7no7 d7vr? ,there are less and less fish. Imagine, each fisherman brings twenty-five nets, and each of those nets is 200 meters long. The fish don’t stand a chance; especially now that they have eggs and it’s their reproductive season»
;io 2w7dv7u 7no b7nw tc 7 ouwpnq dtua wn7lvwvtu 7ul 8o 7p?o tc wiv? wioq tuwvupo wt tbon7wo wt wiv? l7q ;io ftnl wn7lvwvtu 7u 8o wnv hq 7? vw v? ?trowvro? p?ol wt ep?wvcq bn7 wv o? fiv i 7no tpwl7wol cwouwvro? vw 7u ro7u 8dvuldq tuwvupvua fvwi 7 wvtu? tc wio b7?w fvwitpw w7hvua vuwt tu?vlon7wvtu wio no7dvwq tc wio bno?ouw 2u wio ftnl? tc ,dv ;78nvyv ,the word tradition, like the word sustainability, is often used to hide unethical actions behind. Tradition has served us in many ways and for centuries as a way of passing down knowledge, but today many traditions are standing in the way of human progress» p q ;78nvyv ounv io? wiv? d7vr 7llvua ,tradition is like peer pressure from the past. That’s not to say there is no value in tradition. We need to be aware of our roots and where we come from, but we should not
excuse to continue with business as usual, when other metrics – like our environmental footprint or whether our actions are ethical – should be considered as well»
7 ;tuu7n7 v? 7 attl oI7rbdo tc p?vua b7?w bn7 wv o? 7? 7 f7q wt vuctr uof tuo? 7? wio bn7 wv o i7? rtlonuvyol 7ul logv7wol cntr wn7lvwvtu vu r7uq f7q? 2u :7nlvuv7 wio 7v? oIbd7vu? ,in the past we used large rocks to hold down the nets, today we use metal chains. In the past we used to make the nets ourselves with coconut string during winter, today we use nylon. In the past we used large blocks of cork to keep the nets afloat, today we use plastic footballs. In the past we used to row out to sea, now we have engines. We modernized about twenty-four years ago. I like it better now – ’s less work and more gain» ,utwion wn7lvwvtu fiv i v? lv?7bbo7nvua v? wi7w tc wio mattanza tn wio ?d7paiwon tc wio wpu7 wn7bbol vu wio lo7wi i7r8on fvwi i7nbttu? fiv i f7? wio ivaidvaiw tc wio ,In Carloforte we do two kinds of sales: either we separate the live tuna and send them to Malta to be farmed and fattened up or we make our own canned tuna and bottarga and sell them locally to restaurants on the island. We used to carry out three r7ww7uyo a week, where we would kill up to 1,000 bluefin in one go, working from dawn to dawn, but now a lot of the fish are sold alive»
2w v? utw ep?w -7ndtctnwo wi7w i7? 7dwonol wio bnt o?? tc wio -7rtadv i7? 7d?t i7uaol ?tro tc wio bvdd7n? tc vw? bn7 wv o 2u wio b7?w wt b7nwv vb7wo vu wio 8twi tc qtpn b7nouw? i7l wt i7go 8oou 8tnu vu -7rtadv 7? vw f7? 7 wno7?pnol dt 7d wn7lvwvtu wi7w bntiv8vw ol wio vuwoan7wvtu tc ctnovauon? ,w wio wvro uow? fono r7lo fvwi ; a local kind of grass tddo wol vu wio 7no7 ,w wio oul tc wio ?o7?tu wio uow? fono pw dtt?o 7ul ?puh 8o trvua cttl ctn wio fish. Today, you do not need to be born in Camogli to take part and the nets are r7lo fvwi uqdtu «It’s no longer true that both your parents need to have come from Camogli, that tradition has disappeared. Now even Romanians come and work in the wtuu7n7, especially lately because it is hard to find people who want to participate», says the seventy-five qo7n tdl fisherman. It is evident that the tradition of capturing bluefin tuna in Italy is still alive,
8pw fi7w i7? i7uaol 7no wio rowitl? 7ul bn7 wv o? p?ol wt 7 ivogo wiv? ;io wn7lvwvtu
?oor? wt 8o ro7uvuacpd tudq fiou ep?wvcqvua vw? tuwvup7wvtu ulon dt?on oI7rvu7wvtu many of its pillars have been modified in order to make the process easier and more lucrative. These deviations from traditional methods have increased the profitability of the business: the use of man-made materials for the nets means that the fish stand no chance of escape, where in the past man and fish faced a fairer fight; the use of foreign labor over local inhab itants also veers significantly from the very essence of the ritual, oIiv8vwvua itf wio bnvtnvwq i7? i7uaol cntr r7vuw7vuvua dt 7d wn7lvwvtu? wt rtuow7nq a7vu oni7b? wio d7nao?w 8no7h cntr wn7lvwvtu v? wio 8p?vuo?? tc wpu7 c7nrvua fiv i v? r7lo bt??v8do wi7uh? wt wio wn7lo tc dvgo wpu7 7bwpnol lpnvua wio 7ul wn7u?connol cntr 2w7dq wt 7dw7 vu d7nao ?o7
7ao? ivdo bnogvtp?dq vu 8twi -7ndtctnwo 7ul vu -7rtadv wio 7w i f7? tu?prol dt 7ddq 7ul ?i7nol 7rtua?w uovai8tnvua rpuv vb7dvwvo? wtl7q . for the bluefin tuna captured in Sar lvuv7 . wiv? v? utw wio 7?o -7ndtctnwoT? fo8 tc uow? pdrvu7wo? vu 7 lo7wi i7r8on wi7w 7u alone reach fifty meters in diameter and thirty-eight meters in depth, but is still utw 7? lo7ldq as it once was. In the past, the tuna was routinely slaughtered and refined on the island.
Now, much of the catch is sold alive to fish farms in Malta. btu 7bwpno wio wpu7 v? wn7u? connol wt tbou f7won 7lao? 7ul c7wwouol pb ctddtfvua wio cool dtw ?wn7woaq trrtudq p?ol
in pig and chicken rearing. When the fish reach the desired weight, they are killed and sold 7ntpul wio ftndl tcwou 7w ivaion bnv o? wi7u wiovn fvdl 7paiw tpuwonb7nw? lpo wt wiovn vu
no7?ol ?vyo fovaiw 7ul c7w bon ouw7ao ;io 7v? ?7q? «a tuna that leaves Carloforte weighing 100 kilograms will end up increasing its weight by forty-five percent or more in Malta»
This means it can be sold at a forty-five percent higher cost, especially in Japanese markets fiono c7wwq wpu7 v? tu?vlonol wt 8o 7 lodv 7 q ;pu7 woul wt 8o spvwo do7u 7? wioq 7u ?fvr pb wt hvdtrowon? bon l7q ?t wiovn c7w v? tu?vlonol wt 8o 7 b7nwv pd7ndq dpIpnvtp? bntlp w
tfogon wiv? bn7 wv o v? l7uaontp? fiou vw tro? wt lo no7?vua fvdl wpu7 ?wt h? wio semblance of farming bluefin tuna is a mere illusion. Far from being spawned in captivity, vw ?vrbdq ro7u? wi7w fvdl ?bo vrou? tc nobntlp wvgo 7ao 7no nortgol cntr wio o t?q?wor vuwonconvua fvwi 8noolvua b7wwonu? 7ul ctn vua tdd7b?o cntr wio 8twwtr pb ;tl7q vulp?wnv7d fisheries which, in Italy, are allocated eighty-eight percent of the countries bluefin quotas, 7no tr8vua wio ?o7? nortgvua wiovn wtw7d 7ddtf78do 7w i cntr wio wtb ltfu 7ul cpnwion oI7 on87wvua wio ?vwp7wvtu c tpn?o wio w7vuwvua tc dt 7d wn7lvwvtu? 7u 8o wn7 ol 87 h to the profitability of bluefin on global markets. This trend, which has led to their sale
7 nt?? 8tnlon? vs directly contributing to decreasing numbers of wild bluefin, as well as en couraging illegal tuna trafficking between Spain, Italy and Malta in efforts such as Operation ;7n7uwodt fiv i f7? pu tgonol vu
,cwon gv?vwvua -7ndtctnwo wio oI vworouw tc b7nwv vb7wvua vu 7 f7? pulouv78do
;io trn7lonq wio 7lnou7dvuo wio ?ou?o tc 8odtuavua 7ul wio etq tc 8ovua 7w ?o7 7dd ou?pno that the fishermen taking part do not want to give up their way of life, clinging to tradition with all their might. It also became clear that tradition has little to do with the reason fish ermen are so dedicated to catching tuna; rather, it is due to the lucrative returns. Although
style fishing is not as harmful as industrial fishing, it promotes the business of tuna c7nrvua fiv i nortgo? nobntlp wvgo ?bo vrou? cntr wio ?o7 7ul an7uw? wio vddp?vtu wi7w wioq 7u 8o ?p?w7vu78dq c7nrol 7ul tu?prol 2w 7d?t bntrtwo? wio utwvtu wi7w vw v? th wt o7w d7nao numbers of bluefin, while a scientific paper published in 2003 estimated that only ten percent of large ocean fish were left due to industrial fishing and today the situation has worsened
?wvdd ;iv? do7l? tuo wt spo?wvtu fiowion ipr7u? vu wio 0dt87d tnwi fit nodq tu 7 g7nvowq tc lvcconouw bntwovu ?tpn o? ?itpdl ogou 8o o7wvua r7nvuo dvco wt 8oavu fvwi ,? p q 7ul ,dv ;78nvyv d7vr vu Seaspiracy, the best thing we can do for fish is wt ?vrbdq utw o7w wior o?bo cially in the case of bluefin tuna.
Both tigers and tuna are classified as endangered species, and while tiger btbpd7wvtu? i7go 8oou antfvua tgon no ouw qo7n? . fvwi wio vddoa7d wvaon ?hvu wn7lo vu n7bvl lo dvuo wi7uh? wt wio bp8dv 8tq twwvua tc cpn . bluefin numbers are plummeting. This highlights how human tu?prbwvtu i78vw? i7go 7 dtw wt lt fvwi itf fo bon ovgo 7uvr7d? 7ul wiovn upr8on? pn ano7w an7ulrtwion? ftpdl fo7n cpn ctn vw? ?w7wp? 7ul vw? vr7avuol 78pul7u o 7dd wio fivdo ln7?wv 7ddq lo vr7wvua wvaon btbpd7wvtu? ;tl7q cpn v? p?ol gonq dvwwdo 7ul woul? wt 8o aouon7ddq cntfuol pbtu itfogon wpu7 7u ?wvdd 8o ctpul vu ?pbonr7nhow? 7ul 7dd qtp 7u o7w ?p?iv no?w7pn7uw? 7 nt?? wio adt8o ;itpai wioq r7q ?oor gonq lvcconouw wpu7 7ul wvaon? 7 wp7ddq i7go 7 dtw vu trrtu . wioq 7no 8twi 7avdo 7boI bnol7wtn? wi7w iodb hoob wio cttl
i7vu vu io h 7ul wiovn lv?7bbo7n7u o ftpdl do7l wt ln7?wv i7uao? vu cttl i7vu iovn7n chies in the wild. While many people eat beef, pork and lamb; most people would not eat a
7w . dow 7dtuo 7 wvaon 7? 7u 7uvr7d wi7w v? gvofol 7? 7 bno vtp? b7nw tc wio o t?q?wor 3p?w like with tigers, a shift in perception must take place when it comes to bluefin tuna; a species wi7w uool? wt 8o nocn7rol 7? fvdldvco n7wion wi7u cttl ?tpn o