After mink and whales, it is the turn of bluefin tuna that catches the eye of environmentalists these days. It is fact that tuna has been carved as in eastern Asia as a main ingredient for sashimi and sushi, is now at the center of concern. It is said that Greenpeace will be holding campaigns to protect tuna, on the verge of extinction due to excessive fishing here.
The organization informed that it is going to hold a rally in Busan from Dec. 8 to 12 on its vessel “Esperanza” to urge Korea to halve its share of the fishing, which is the world’s third largest. It is also said that the southern port city will be hosting the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission annual congress, where members will be discussing cutting down fishing quotas in the region.
Spokesman for the Korea Federation for Environmental Movements, a partner of Greenpeace in the project, Choi Ye-yong said that some countries understand the necessity of the system but some countries, including Korea, are still against it. The federation expressed that the amount of tuna in the Indian and Atlantic Oceans is rapidly decreasing and the Pacific Ocean is the haven of last resort. It is true that the yellow fin tuna, bigeye tuna and ordinary tuna are all on the verge of extinction and Korea alone caught 300,000 tons of fish last year, of which 90 percent was from the Pacific.
At a press conference held at the Ministry of Environment, Greenpeace activists against the excessive fishing gathered to share their ideas. Sari Tovanen suggested that cutting down production will bring up the price, which could benefit fishermen and save the ocean at the same time, a win-win strategy.
