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Mistubishi Corporation Hoards Tons of Endangered Bluefin Tuna
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.
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.
Crowd Power
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optic
Vancouver, Canada
Recommendations (14)
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theswamme
Orlando, Florida, United States -
Uwe Paschen
Narita, Chiba, Japan -
kate
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada





Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (4)
at 10:06 on August 21st, 2009
Absolutely shameful behaviour...
at 01:39 on August 23rd, 2009
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.
at 16:07 on August 31st, 2009
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.
at 16:09 on August 31st, 2009
And I forgot to mention their treatment of Sharks. The Japanese do not Respect nature in general.