Mistubishi Corporation Hoards Tons of Endangered Bluefin Tuna

by optic | August 21, 2009 at 09:44 am
1310 views | 14 Recommendations | 4 comments

Videos

The End of the Line Official Movie Trailer HD

see larger video

sourced by optic

The End of the Line Official Movie Trailer HD

Japanese mega-corporation Mitsubishi is alleged to have been hoarding and freezing thousand of tons of bluefin tuna. Estimates are that Mistubishi controls between 35 and 40 percent of the 60,000 tons caught annually, a catch rate nearly three times higher than experts report is sustainable. It is suggested that if bluefin tuna stocks continue to deplete at their current rate the fish would go commercially extinct by 2012. If that is the case Mistubishi stands to make incredible profits from their hoard of frozen tuna as the stock continues to get depleted.

Japan's sprawling Mitsubishi conglomerate has cornered a 40 per cent share of the world market in bluefin tuna, one of the world's most endangered fish.

A corporation within the £170bn Mitsubishi empire is importing thousands of tonnes of the fish from Europe into Tokyo's premium fish markets, despite stocks plummeting towards extinction in the Mediterranean.

Bluefin tuna frozen at -60C now could be sold in several years' time for astronomical sums if Atlantic bluefin becomes commercially extinct as forecast, a result of the near free-for-all enjoyed by the tuna fleet.


This story was first reported nearly two-months ago, but only just came to my attention, and I think it bears repeating. Mitsubishi has taken the diamond industry model by over-buying stock to create market scarcity. Except in this case, unlike the diamond market, it is not the illusion of scarcity that is being created.

Feed Reader

No items in the feed.

Environmentalist Charles Clover addresses this and similar occurrences of deep-freeezing in his documentary "The End of the Line"

Charles Clover in his environmental documentary film The End of the Line shows that big-fishing is accountable for deep-freezing up to 20,000 tons of the fish annually. Clover is at the forefront of an international campaign to raise awareness about overfishing. Last year, Greenpeace launched an advertising campaign likening bluefin to their critically endangered land counterparts.
Advertisement
recommend Sign In or Join to post comments
1
Amy Judd

Absolutely shameful behaviour...

0
hidflect

Mitsubishi was specifically targeted by General MacArthur to be split up after the war being one of the principle proponents  and antagonists for military expansion. So they were divided into a number of divisions and to this day are restricted from close collaboration. In reality, after having dealt with many of the different factions, I find them to be just as right wing and elitist as they ever were in attitude. Every month  they gather together once in each of their headquarters in secret to continue their collusion and market rigging.

Secretly they (as a corporate culture) lament Japan's lost "greatness"; a view I've had expressed to me by more than a few senior Mitsubishi executives. The branches include Mistsubishi Heavy Industries (responsible for wasting countless Billions of Dollars on the boondoggle weapons industry funded by unquestioned government largess), Mitsubishi Realty (which owns virtually all the land around the Emperor' Palace), Mitsubishi Chemical ( a giant polluter), MUFG Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank (responsible for bankrolling many a loss-making but favoured enterprise as well as keeping books on people deemed undesirable for employment due to lower class status) and Mitsubishi Electric (also a giant polluter who hide behind the brand name "Buffalo").

Note: Mitsubishi car company is NOT related to these "old fashioned" (nee; xenophobic) concerns. Neither is Mitsubishi Pencils who stole the name during licencing confusion after the war...

Mitsubishi is a primary "role model" force behind much of the colonialist manner one finds in Japanese companies overseas in places like the Philippines and Indonesia where they build themselves exclusive entertainment "compounds" to keep out the locals, excepting the girlie hostesses and drinks waiters, of course.

0
theswamme

For some reason or another the Japanese think is OK to Hoard Tuna and to hunt and Kill whales. For a civilization that has been around for Centuries they dont seem to be very smart when it comes to ecological behavior. They continue to Kill Whales after The majority of  Industrialized countries have stopped. I understand the japanese love their Fish, especially Tuna. But for a Corporation as large as Mitsubishi, What are they thinking. Could it be to capitalize on profit when the Tuna supplies have been diminished. That is disgusting. I guess this is what to be expected from a country and a government who are far behind the rest of the cicvilized world in relation to Ecological Stewardship and Humaitarianism.

0
theswamme

And I forgot to mention their treatment of Sharks. The Japanese do not Respect nature in general.

What is NowPublic?

NowPublic lets people work together to cover news events around the world.

Find out more

Crowd Power

kate
First Flagged at 10:02 AM, Aug 21, 2009 by kate
These members have powered this story:

Most Recommended Stories in Environment

Recommendations (14)

Most recently recommended by:
 

closeSign in to NowPublic

is reporting from