The topic I will be writing about for the research thesis is overfishing. Overfishing is the focus of my thesis because I enjoy fish. A segment of my research will be the overfishing in Japan because I am fond of sashimi (a Japanese dish of thinly sliced raw fish). The Japanese cuisine that is not cooked is usually forms of sushi – and one of my favorite food preparation styles. But with such a popular style of food, how do Japan and other locations with heavy Japanese populations fish for a large audience. Understand that a whole tuna fish on auction in Tokyo’s Tsukiji Fish Market (the largest fish market in the world) can cost the same price as a car. Even then hundreds of fresh, whole tuna are hauled in daily – thousands of frozen specimens are auctioned off on top of that. I want to learn how one of my favorite foods – fish – could be so popular that it becomes an international issue. After thousands of tuna are purchased daily in the world’s largest fish market, how there could still be fish left in the oceans.
My research suggests that commercial overfish originated with the Industrial Revolution. This dramatically increased human population and with it a sudden demand for the necessities of life – food, water, shelter, and clothing. It was during this time of industrialization in Japan when small, subsidence fishing operations evolved into larger commercial fisheries. Eventually, large demands for food (including fish) led to modern Japanese overfishing practices. Another case of overfishing in the 1980s occurred in the Gulf of Mexico. Apparently in New Orleans, Louisiana a chef popularized a dish “blackened redfish” which utilized Sciaenops ocellatus (also red-drum and incorrectly redfish). S. ocellatus suddenly became high demand from this popular dish. So many of these fish were pulled out from the ocean state departments of Fish and Game passed codes which limited the size and number of S. ocellatus which could be harvested for commercial use. These codes normally enforce effective protection to fish, however the development of red-drums seriously flawed the system. These fish can have a life of over 50 years. Logically the population of long-lived animals decline rapidly with large-scale commercial harvesting as the rate of harvesting exceeds the rate of reproduction and development – they eventually would become “non-sustainable” resources. Unfortunately, even the new state, national, and international protection could not entirely protect the redfish. S. ocellatus develops very quickly – usually within 3 to 6 years. However, thereafter most development halts in its entirety. Because of that, teenaged redfish are almost indistinguishable from its elder generations. Present day aquaculture (the raising of marine creatures in farms, then releasing them back to the wild) in addition to wildlife protection is now an effective measure to protect the once-overfished species. Nonetheless, in other parts of the world, overfishing is still an outstanding issue.
My thesis will attempt to focus on Japanese overfishing – especially tuna (for sushi) as mentioned above. This issue however is not only limited to Japan. Other countries are also suffering scrutiny for overfishing – including China and South Korea. However their focus will most likely be limited – and as I gather more research, I may find it unnecessary to my thesis. Another interesting Japanese issue that has sparked my interest is the killing of dolphins. So instead of general overfishing as my topic, there may be a modified topic of the Japanese fishing industry. This will greatly depend on the volume and detail of my research on the topics. In any case, I will be interested in my findings regardless of the specific topic I choose.
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