DECLINES IN FISH STOCKS WORLDWIDE_the ecology of exinction

The area of "the donut hole" , which is that area of the Bering sea that lies in between the territorial waters of Russia , US, and CAnada, is suffering extreme overfishing from lack of any management, despite clear rules established by multiple treaties.

Their choice to eat fish and whale meat is a cultural choice, and of pretty recent date. The Japanese did not become blue water sailors until after the end of the Meiji era, in the mid-19th century. Even then, it was not until the 20th century that they began to become large scale pelagic fishers--and they only started hunting the whale after the Second World War.

I'm sure you are pleased with yourself for jumping into a discussion which you haven't understood to take rhetorical cheap shots. I I suspect that's a favorite MO with you.

My point about beef was that beef comes from a managed and sustainable industry,

Also, in MAine, the markets for Sea urchin roe and "Nori", yellowfin tuna, "fatty bluefin" and "sea potatoes" are diven entirely by Japanese tastes and their market demand. Urchins, normally couldnt be fed to cats are now being sold for several dollars an ounce if full of roe.

I don't think you've really checked into this very much at all. The beef industry is one of the most wasteful, one of the most polluting, one of the least bang for the buck food industries in the world.

Based on his studies, he believes the bluefin catch soared from 1,000 tons to 5,000 tons in the 1910s to almost 20,000 tons in the 1930s.

He attributed the sharp rise to the emergence of fishing vessels equipped with engines that allowed fishermen to expand their range.

Muto said that considering the extensive fishing off Kushiro in eastern Hokkaido and coastal areas in the 1930s, he assumed the bluefin haul could have gone up to 25,000 tons during the peak period.

Tuna fishing activity in post WW II in Micronesia was remarkably different. Much of the fishery infrastructure and tuna vessels were destroyed by war activity and the Japanese and Okinawan fishermen had been repatriated. Under a United Nations trustee arrangement, the United States assumed control of the area, but had much less interest than Japan did previously in economic development, including fisheries. As part of the terms of surrender, geographic restrictions known as MacArthur Lines, were placed on the movements of Japanese vessels, which effectively prevented their tuna fishing in Micronesia. These lines were extended four times and finally the last MacArthur Line was lifted in April 1952, at which time the Japanese government began encouraging the construction of large longline and pole-and-line tuna vessels (Peatie, 1988; Matsuda, 1987). Nine Japanese longline/mothership expeditions took place in Micronesia in 1950 and 1951 under temporary permission of the USA military (Felando, 1987). Although Japanese fishing activity in what were then high seas areas gradually returned to the Micronesian region, USA government restrictions on economic activity ashore were held in place until the mid-1970s and precluded any return to the fish processing bases developed before the War.

In the early 1950s the activities of the Japan-based pole-and-line vessels were limited to fishing close to Japan by their need to carry live bait, but later improvements in technology allowed those vessels to increase their range from their Japanese bases. By the early 1960s Japanese pole and line vessels were fishing in the areas near the northern Marianas and Palau during their near-Japan off-season (Rothschild and Uchida, 1968; Skipjack Programme, 1984) and during the next ten years were fishing well south of the equator. Longline vessels also expanded their range; in 1952 their fishing area included most of Micronesia and by 1962 most parts of the Pacific between 40o north and south latitude [note: i have no idea what the author means by this cryptic reference to what one can only assume was, for the author, a reference to latitude.] had been explored by Japanese longline fishermen (Matsuda, 1987). Significant American tuna initiatives were also under way. (This paragraph was completed with a description of American expansion into Pacific tuna grounds).

The Japanese were also active in establishing facilities in the Pacific Islands area. Between the early 1950s and the early 1960s, tuna longline bases were established in Pago Pago (American Samoa), Santo Island (Vanuatu), Noumea (New Caledonia), Papeete (French Polynesia) and Levuka (Fiji). In most cases these facilities supplied raw product, mainly albacore, to canneries in Hawaii and the USA mainland (Doulman, 1987). At the same time, the Japan-based pole-and-line vessels continued to expand their range, with fishing operations eventually reaching even the southern parts of the Pacific Islands area, with 300 pole-and-line vessels participating seasonally in the fishery.

General Douglas MacArthur encouraged the surrendered Japan to continue whaling in order to provide a cheap source of meat to starving people (and millions of dollars in oil for the USA and Europe).[29] The Japanese whaling industry quickly recovered as MacArthur authorized two tankers, converted into factory ships (Hashidate Maru and Nisshin Maru), with catcher boats to once again, take blue whales, fins, humpbacks and sperm whales in the Antarctic and elsewhere.[30]

The first post-war expedition was overseen by a US naval officer, Lieutenant David McCracken, and observed by Australian Kenneth Coonan. Coonan expressed disapproval of McCracken in his reports of violated regulations and waste dumped over the side when the fleet began killing whales faster than they could be processed. McCracken even briefly joined in whaling with the Japanese crew of a catch boat and detailed the trip in his 1948 book, Four Months on a Jap Whaler.[31]

The post-war recovery established whale meat as a nation-wide food source for the first time. In 1947 whale meat made up over 50 percent of the meat consumed in Japan. The market significantly increased through commercial sale and public distribution. In 1954, the School Lunch Act also included whale meat in compulsory education (elementary and middle school) to improve the nutrition of Japanese children. However, as economic growth and average income improved, the demand for whale decreased. Other meats became more popular into the 1970s and whale meat was removed from school menus.[32]

Japanese fishing boats first start to appear off New Zealand's waters in the late 1950s. Their presence, and the UK setting up a 12 mile limit in 1964, become the catalyst for an extended NZ fishing zone as large quantities of fish are caught by Japan's fishing fleet. The Territorial Sea and Fishing Zone Act 1965 extends New Zealand’s jurisdiction from 3 to 12 miles and empowers MAF to regulate foreign vessels entering the 12 mile zone.