The year in review: 2009

Days gone by

It’s been quite a year.

As the last few heartbeats of the year 2009 fade away, it is natural to take stock of how far we have come.  It’s important to recognize our victories, as well as to isolate and examine our shortcomings.  After all, there’s certainly no need to make the same mistakes again in 2010.

I’m also happy to say that it was Sustainable Sushi‘s first birthday at some point in the last few weeks.  Over this past year, this website has afforded me with the opportunity not only to explore many  fascinating issues, but to discuss them with people commenting from all across the globe.  It has been a wonderful experience, and I thank you all so very much for helping to make it happen.

So, 2009: a tumultuous year by any standard.  The oceans have had a tough time of it, but in other ways, we’ve achieved more than we could have possibly hoped for.

There have been times over the past twelve months when things have seemed bleak.  It is beyond debate that the oceans took some major blows this year, and some of the ominous clouds on the horizon have grown even darker:

• 

  Banzai

  The efforts of Prince Albert II of Monaco, the first head of state to stand up for the bluefin tuna, were undermined by France’s President Sarkozy, EU Commissioner Joe Borg, and the governments of several other Mediterranean countries.

• A swarm of gargantuan jellyfish attacked Japan, causing tremendous damage to the fishing fleet.

• A disease outbreak in Chile’s salmon farms led first to an egregious abuse of antibiotics, and then to the catastrophic collapse of what was formerly the largest segment of the world’s salmon farming industry.

• The ICCAT meeting in Recife, Brazil, failed inexcusably in its charge, setting bluefin tuna quotas far exceeding any scientific ally defensible numbers and underscoring yet again the need for CITES Appendix I protection for this animal.

• 

  We will rue the day

  The Copenhagen climate change conference missed the mark and fell short of setting any global reasonable emissions goals, paving the way for the increased acidification of the world’s oceans.

• December’s WCPFC meeting in Tahiti should have resulted in protectionary measures to forestall these practices, but thanks to pressure to the contrary from Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea, the talks collapsed.

At the same time, we’ve seen some incredible successes this year.  All across the planet, people stood up for the oceans, bringing their passion for a better planet with them as they cooked, shopped, wrote, worked and marched:

• TIME Magazine ran a front-page article on the disappearing bluefin tuna, waking millions of people across the globe to the plight of the world’s largest bony fish.

• 

  Sound the alarm

  Greenpeace conducted a series of campaigns across the Pacific Ocean, drawing attention to the ecological carnage wrought by many skipjack tuna seiners.

• Japanese pole-caught skipjack tuna attained Marine Stewardship Council certification, becoming the first Japanese fishery to do so.

• The World Wildlife Fund and other participating stakeholders completed and ratified a global standard for tilapia farming.  Regardless of whether or not one supports the standard itself, the groundbreaking idea of using an open-stakeholder system to develop guidelines for sustainable aquaculture is something to be commended.

• 

  Unwanted attention

  The End of the Line, a documentary on overfishing and the state of the world’s oceans, was released.  This led to increased pressure on Nobu restaurant to discontinue the sale of endangered Northern bluefin.  This momentum manifest in celebrity petitions, dozens of articles in trade and mainstream press, and a Greenpeace campaign.

• Many major seafood retailers in the United States discontinued problematic seafood items in an effort to become more sustainable in their practices.  As an example, Wegmans, Target, and Whole Foods all stopped selling orange roughy due to the irresponsible catch methods used in the fishery.

• Mashiko restaurant in Seattle, WA, converted to a fully sustainable menu, becoming the first conventional sushi bar in the world to make such a transition.

• 

  It's finally over

  The Cove, a shocking documentary about the Taiji dolphin slaughter, was released worldwide.  Broome, Australia, discontinued its sister-city relationship with Taiji over the fiasco.  Taiji has temporarily halted its dolphin drive, but other communities in Japan continue to hunt dolphins.  The Cove has even been nominated for an Academy Award for “Best Documentary.”

• 2009 marked the first year in a world beyond the grindadrap: the annual Faeroese pilot whale drive that had caused much consternation among environmentalists.  In response to warnings by their chief medical advisors, the Faeroese practice of slaughtering pilot whales and distributing the meat throughout the community was halted permanently in November of 2008.

The majority of these positive changes are part of a greater pattern: an accelerating increase in our overall awareness of the problems faced by our oceans.  Movies, magazine articles, and activist campaigns have brought the health of our fisheries to the headlines and to the tips of our tongues.  The amount of conversations we are having at coffee shops, in grocery stores, and around backyard barbecues about seafood sustainability and environmentally responsible fish consumption has never been higher – and rising faster than ever before.

Stand and fight

Yes, it’s true that the bluefin tuna is in dire straits.  It is true that eel poaching continues unabated, that bottom trawlers still prowl the seas, and that we are on pace to empty the oceans of all seafood in less than forty years.  Still, as menacing as these threats are, they are not the most important issues at hand.

The single most powerful and meaningful thing that happened to our oceans this year is that we truly began to wake up to the truth of what we are doing to our planet.  We are more aware.  We are more alert.  And we are much more energized and focused.

Hundreds of new ocean activists are standing up every day to make a difference.  Maybe they write a check, or they buy a different kind of fish, or they have a conversation with a chef or grocer.  Maybe they simply have coffee with a good friend and spread the word.  It doesn’t matter – it all helps.  Every day we come closer to achieving critical mass, a fully realized awareness that will mobilize our true potential to save our oceans.

A brave new world

So let’s make 2010 the year that we redouble our efforts.  It is time to capitalize on our momentum and push even harder, accomplish even more for the sake of planet and our future.  There is still a tremendous amount of work to do, but make no mistake: we are stronger than the forces that would hold us back.  And on those particularly gloomy days, when bad news comes crashing down and the future looks insurmountably bleak, just remember: you are not alone.  We’re all in this together – you, me, and the millions of other people that are out there fighting every single day, working to make this world a better place for all of us.

Take heart — we are winning.

Tags: 2009, 2010, birthday, bluefin, borg, bottom trawl, copenhagen, cove, eel, greenpeace, grindadrap, ICCAT, japan, jellyfish, mashiko, monaco, new year, sarkozy, skipjack, sustainable sushi, tahiti, target, time, WCPFC, wegmans, whole foods, WWF

America half-steps up

Earlier this week, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere as well as NOAA Admisistrator – not to mention a member of President Obama’s Ocean Taskforce – finally broke the silence by officially weighing in on bluefin tuna.

Lubchenco: turning the tide?

Lubchenco announced that the United States is “sending a clear and definitive statement to the international community that the status quo is not acceptable.”  She formally acknowledged the peril facing the Northern bluefin tuna, citing stock declines of 72% and 82% in the eastern and western populations, respectively.  The good Doctor levels blame for these declines directly at the ineffectual International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), as well as the irresponsible activities of certain countries that target bluefin in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Lubchenco calls for ICCAT to address overfishing by setting responsible quotas, increasing enforcement, and instituting fishing closures during spawning periods.   She then goes on to declare the United States’ “strong support” for Monaco’s proposal to prohibit the international trade of the species by way of a CITES Appendix I listing.

Sounds great, right?  And it is, in a way.  It’s a strong proclamation that lets the world know the United States is seriously concerned about this issue.   So why aren’t I out in the street right now, lighting fireworks and drinking to excess?

What’s more important than what Dr. Lubchenco said is what she didn’t say.  Specifically, one particular word, the absence of which leaves me worried and somewhat dismayed.

That word is “sponsor.”

They just needed a friend

Lubchenco’s statement, while full of authority and righteous indignation, undercuts itself by failing to take up Monaco’s proposal whole-heartedly and champion it at the upcoming CITES meeting in March.  Here’s what I mean:

Sponsoring the proposal would have meant that the United States would have submitted Monaco’s resolution to the CITES parties itself.

Strongly supporting the proposal means that the United States is behind the idea in theory, but won’t stand alone to bring it to the table for due consideration and a vote.

Management at its finest

The United States’ government has cast its weight behind a plan that would theoretically repair ICCAT rather than seek endangered species status for the bluefin.  And yes, there is some merit to this.  If ICCAT had the capacity to set quotas based on ecologically sustainable yield (ESY) as well as the teeth to enforce them in the face of pirates and greedy European bureaucrats (you listening, Joe Borg?) – then it just might work.  In fact, by demonstrating its capacity to rebuild the tuna stock in the face of unrelenting market pressure, it could even prove a model for other fishery management tools.  But based on ICCAT’s shameful history, not to mention the infuriating myopia and relentless rapacity demonstrated by some of the countries participating in ICCAT, I am forced to remain skeptical.

While Lubchenco’s statement rings loudly, its effectiveness is yet to be determined.  The gap between sponsorship and strong support is wide indeed – potentially wide enough to swallow up all that’s left of the once-mighty bluefin tuna.

Tags: albert, bluefin, borg, CITES, endangered species, ESY, ICCAT, lubchenco, monaco, noaa, northern bluefin, obama, qatar, sponsor

… to spite their faces

In an absolutely heartbreaking turn of events, the European Union has decided not to support Monaco’s proposal to award the northern bluefin tuna the protections of CITES Appendix I.

I am gutted.

A continental disappointment

Even though a majority of countries within the EU – specifically those of Northern Europe, Scandinavia, and the British Isles – voted to co-sponsor, an uncompromising and hostile block of Mediterranean countries were able to defeat the process.   Because of convoluted EU law, these southern countries were able to demonstrate enough dissent within the Union that the mighty juggernaut of European bureaucracy creaked to a halt.

While 21 European nations seemed ready to support the ban, the unceasing whine generated by six short-sighted members – Spain, France, Italy, Malta, Greece, and Cyprus – was able to derail the process.  Without EU backing for Monaco’s proposal, it becomes increasingly unlikely that the bluefin tuna will find succor.  Rather, it will probably fall back under the domain of ICCAT – the very organization through whose lack of potency this magnificent fish has found itself in such dire straits.

This is not progress.

Want to point the finger at someone in particular?  No problem.  This nauseating story boasts two particularly villainous figures.

Environmental enemy #1: Joe Borg

It's all about the euros

Joe Borg, Maltese, is the EU Commissioner of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs.  Though his political savvy, the bluefin tuna mafia of Malta, Italy, and the rest of the Mediterranean was able to accomplish its shockingly myopic goal of keeping this fishery open.  It’s probably not necessary to be reminded that northern bluefin tuna populations have crashed to such a level that, if current fishing trends continue, they will be commercially extinct within two years.  Someone please explain to me why countries that depend on fishing for their livelihood would strive to eliminate the very lifeblood of their economy through an unabashed short-term cash grab?

Environmental enemy #2: Nicolas Sarkozy

Bye bye bluefin

Remember all that nice stuff I said about Sarkozy a couple months ago?  I take it all back.  France’s first citizen has proven himself the worst type of turncoat; a traitor to his people and his planet.  France was the first country to step forward and support Prince Grimaldi’s proposal, but in recent weeks, Sarkozy has reversed his position and allied with the Mediterranean states.  If France had not switched camps, the proposal would have most likely been endorsed by the EU.  From a certain perspective, the actions of one individual may have doomed the world’s largest bony fish to an ignominious demise.

Want to tell Sarkozy what you think of his actions?  Send him this letter.  It’s in French — here’s an English translation, courtesy of Greenpeace UK.

Fortunately, all is not lost.  We can still save this animal – but yes, it is going to be more difficult that in otherwise would have been.

First of all, there is a chance that Europe will reverse its position.  Lobbying efforts are underway in France and other key countries, and if the balance of power can be swung away from the Mediterranean, the European Commission may vote in favor of the proposal after all.  Unfortunately, we most likely won’t know how this will fall out until early next year.  So, in the interim, Monaco’s proposal needs a new champion.

Crimes against nature

There is a meeting in Brazil in November that will revisit this issue.  Before it kicks off, we need to convince the government of a major world power to take a stand on this – and frankly, the best candidate is the United States.  If we can get Washington to step up, we can still save the bluefin tuna from extinction.

We’re gaining momentum here in the States.  The Coastal Conservation Association, a major recreational fishing association, has taken up the banner and is pushing to have Northern bluefin listed under CITES Appendix I.  President Obama’s Ocean Taskforce is traveling about the country holding open hearings on ocean issues, and the administration seems receptive to the idea of pushing this issue and creating marine reserves in the Gulf of Mexico to protect the bluefin spawning grounds.  And numerous environmental groups and activists soldier on, waving the flag and shouting to the rooftops.

Dying for a miracle

Please, spread the word and get involved.  If we can create a groundswell of support, we can regain momentum.

Tell your friends and co-workers about this critical issue.   Support Greenpeace’s actions in France and help us get Paris back on track.  Avoid sushi restaurants like Nobu that serve endangered bluefin tuna. Most importantly – don’t give up on this amazing animal just yet.  We can still turn things around.

Tags: bluefin, borg, cca, coastal conservation association, cyprus, environmental enemy, eu, european union, extinct, france, greece, greenpeace, italy, letter, malta, monaco, nobu, northern, obama, overfishing, sarkozy, spain, vote, washington