Britain's sushi craving puts Japan's fish stocks under strain

by Amy Judd | March 28, 2008 at 08:17 am

2750 views | 2 Recommendations | 40 comments

The British love their sushi. They love it so much that their mass consumption of raw fish, especially convenient take-out 'supermarket sushi' may be straining worldwide fish stocks, and could result in the wipe-out of Japan's most famous cuisine.

The founder of Britain’s first conveyor-belt sushi restaurants told a forum of Japanese chefs and food suppliers yesterday that the appetite they had stimulated was not sustainable.

The warning came as, only a few miles across Tokyo, representatives from the 13 nations who consume the most tuna met scientists to discuss chronicover fishing and the possible extinction of sushi’s most critical ingredient.

High on their agenda, said insiders at the closed-door talks, was the explosive “sushi effect” on national eating habits around the world. The talks, which end today, are expected to result in a global agreement to tighten fishing rules.

Caroline Bennett, the founder of the Moshi Moshi sushi chain, said that expanding global appetites for sushi and the rapid emergence of fast-food sushi would not be met by the available natural resources.

While she applauded the speed with which Britain has developed a taste for awell-rolled tekka-maki, she questioned its role as anything other than anoccasional treat.

“Can the sea really let us eat sushi in these numbers?” she asked, adding that London now had more than 300 Japanese restaurants and the British market forJapanese food is worth more than £500 million a year.

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maza34

at 10:52 on March 28th, 2008

That was my lunch to eat in the train. There were salmon-cucumber and tuna-cucumber maki sushi, and onigiri.

maza34 has contributed a photo to this story.

blogdaszizuu

at 11:26 on March 28th, 2008

http://blogdaszizuu.blogspot.com/

See all my photos in this blog!
Thanks for the oportunity!

blogdaszizuu has contributed a photo to this story.

iwantmorefood.com

at 11:27 on March 28th, 2008

We need people to open up people's tastes so they like more than just tuna. The tuna population is in trouble. There are many fish in the sea, fish people never thought of eating. Usually tuna is a staple on any sushi plate, this could be part of the problem. It is the king of the fishes though...

iwantmorefood.com has contributed a photo to this story.

tradewinds

at 11:57 on March 28th, 2008

Paris has many sushi places, particularly north of the Seine. They are open until late at night and have brisk carry-out business. The consumption of raw fish has exploded around the world.

tradewinds has contributed a photo to this story.

Jordan Yerman

at 12:06 on March 28th, 2008

That conveyor belt in Yo! Sushi doesn't go on forever...

legacyb4

at 12:50 on March 28th, 2008

I worry that the future generations won't be able to enjoy the delicacy that is raw fish... :-(

Jessica_Linares

at 13:34 on March 28th, 2008

Some friends of mine and I prepared this sushi one night, and I decided to take a photo to remember that I can make some sushi!

Thanks for the opportunity!

Jessica_Linares has contributed a photo to this story.

jimu

at 13:32 on March 28th, 2008

Someone needs to invent efficient and effective fish farms.

jimu

at 13:32 on March 28th, 2008

Someone needs to invent efficient and effective fish farms.

jimu

at 13:33 on March 28th, 2008

...

sushi_apartment

at 14:01 on March 28th, 2008

Ikura sushi made with salmon eggs

sushi_apartment has contributed a photo to this story.

dodsoncn

at 14:04 on March 28th, 2008

i could just eat veggie sushi if i had to.

dodsoncn has contributed a photo to this story.

arrtx1

flagged this story as Good Stuff

at 14:15 on March 28th, 2008

amyjudd, I like this story. It's good stuff.

sushi_apartment

at 14:19 on March 28th, 2008

Hi (sorry for my lousy english)

I'm from Chile and I've been making sushi for 4 years now. I realize that sushi has been expanding for the last 10 years. Anyways, I don't agree completely with this article. I have to say that my country is one of the biggest producers and exporters of salmon, salmon eggs, lump fish eggs, avocatos and nori seaweed (some important sushi ingredients). In the case of fish, we only use the ones that are breeded in salmoneras, meaning that people don't fish out in the open to get salmon. That way we can control the extintion of fish.

I really don't know if the British only like tuna, but maybe they should switch and try some different types of fish instead, like salmon. Anyways, we don't have to forget that sushi in it's origins was ment to be a vegeterian meal: just vegetables and rice. Eventually, things will have to go back to the way they were before if we wan't to continue enjoying this delightful meal.

Here's my flickr with my sushi pictures

www.flickr.com/photos/sushi_apartment

Francisco Chavez - Quero

vfr_superfreak

at 14:49 on March 28th, 2008

Enjoyed this dish at Kyoshi's, as we do about once a week, in Guad. Mex's famous San Juan food market.

BUT, I don't entirely agree with the idea that sushi consumption specifically is impacting fish stock worldwide.

Besides, as we all know the alternatives have a much higher impact on the environment, land-grown meat costs many times higher in water and fuel, soil impact and fertilizer. And 40% of methane pollution comes from livestock!

"According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation. "

From UN's FAO;

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/

vfr_superfreak has contributed a photo to this story.

leanderaD

at 14:56 on March 28th, 2008

I was pondering this very issue just the other day ...but that is the american way ...obsessing over a subject . we have already made a ton of land animals extinct or on the verge of extinction ...now we must move on the the water and sea =-*. people are like locus they swarm in and consume all the resources then swarm to a new place .

Amy Judd

at 15:07 on March 28th, 2008

I don't think that sushi is causing fish across the world to become depleted to the point of extinction, but I think it's an interesting look at how yet another human activity is having such an impact on the world around us. I never would have thought before today that our consumption of sushi could have an effect on the fish population. Call me naive I suppose but I didn't think something like this could have an effect on the numbers of fish. But it's an interesting point to ponder at some point today and wonder what the possible solution could be.

Ben Majoe

at 15:39 on March 28th, 2008

Seared tuna at a high end Japanese restaurant in Singapore

Ben Majoe has contributed a photo to this story.

NeilsPhotography

at 16:07 on March 28th, 2008

Sushi Conveyor belt, Tokyo. Tokyo has some of the freshest and cheapest Sushi in the world. Starting at 10 yen (50 pence) a plate.

NeilsPhotography has contributed a photo to this story.

goocy

at 19:02 on March 28th, 2008

Running sushi (or 回転寿司 - kaiten zushi) is also quite popular in Germany. Its an All-you-can-eat model and you pay per hour.

goocy has contributed a photo to this story.

debrarian

at 20:01 on March 28th, 2008

Technically speaking, my pix are of sashimi - very creatively prepared at Boston's Uni restaurant. This was a celebratory meal for me and friends in honor of some good news. I still think of sushi as something a bit special.

debrarian has contributed a photo to this story.

__amiiistosA

at 20:49 on March 28th, 2008

http://www.flickr.com/photos/__amiiistosa/

__amiiistosA has contributed a photo to this story.

tommyf8

at 22:23 on March 28th, 2008

I'm not a big fan of sushi. I'll have to go somewhere nice with a good reputation for a better experience. I'm willing to give it another go. I ate this sushi here on a dare. It was one of the worst things I've ever tried.

tommyf8 has contributed a photo to this story.

nobuhisa.yamashita

at 23:33 on March 28th, 2008

nobuhisa.yamashita has contributed a photo to this story.

lwl80

at 23:40 on March 28th, 2008

This is my lunch. I do eat sushi once awhile.

lwl80 has contributed a photo to this story.

Trisa Debono

at 01:52 on March 29th, 2008

My picture is thanks to my sister....she stayed preparing sushi for Easter Lunch and to show my appreciation I took pictures of her work :)

Trisa Debono

at 01:53 on March 29th, 2008

My picture is thanks to my sister....she stayed preparing sushi for Easter Lunch and to show my appreciation I took pictures of her work :)

Rodrigo Suarez

at 03:36 on March 29th, 2008

Goiânia, Brasil

Rodrigo Suarez has contributed a photo to this story.

Laura A

at 08:01 on March 29th, 2008

I'm vegetarian, and heartily recommend vegetarian or vegan sushi! There's nothing nicer than good quality nori, lovely sushi rice, avocado, red pepper and cashews rolled up together. My photo is of sushi with tofu inside, which was nice but no as good as veggies...

No fish required :-)

dawniepoo

at 09:13 on March 29th, 2008

My photo is from Warakabune, in San Francisco. My friend Eric's 7-year-old son took this photo of my dinner. I too think that it is best for this cuisine to be enjoyed as a special treat. Maybe we just need to rid the world of the notion of "super market sushi" completely! It's not as good anyway, and it results in a lot of wasted, out-of-date fish. All things in moderation....

dawniepoo has contributed a photo to this story.