Japan Deppends on the Ocean

Japan Depends on the Ocean
By Beatriz Herzberg and Emma Long

The people in Japan are facing possible problems concerning the state of their oceans. There is over-fishing and toxic waste difficulties that effect not only the future tonnage of fish in Japan, but also the ocean’s food chain. With the decline in fish for Japan, workers are starting to think about other job possibilities. However since fishing is what most of them grew up with it is hard to get a pleasant job without going to school.

For many Japanese fisherman the ocean is their life, from food to shelter, people all along Japan’s coast have relied on it for many generations. The Japanese have been fishing to support their families for years but now the price of fish is almost half what it was 10 years ago. For decades Japan has been the worlds leading consumer of fish, leading the fishing industries all over the world. However in 1989 Japan was surpassed by China, and a few years after that by Chile and Peru. Because the prices are so low many fisherman are abandoning the profession leaving a mere ½ a per cent of the total households currently fishing. Many of the people are glad for the next generation who will have office jobs and not have to face the ever-changing fish values.
However with the prices so low, Japan is over-fishing more and more of their share. Fish currently supply the greatest percentage of the worlds protein consumed by humans. Many times in history Japan has posed the greatest threat to destroying the most numbers of fish. However since the statistics vary over time, it is difficult to compare them. Since fishing became more popular in the late 1980’s, and as fish-finding and harvesting techniques became more efficient, Japan’s fishers started to go after their catch at greater depths and in more remote waters, going further and further into their neighbors’ fishing territories.
Over the past 50 years, the number of large predatory fish in Japan’s ocean has dropped by 90%. Catches of many of the popular fish have been cut in half even with a tripling in fishing effort. 70% of popular fish have reached their limit and have been classified as fully exploited or overexploited, and Japan’s ocean food chain is falling into disarray. Conservationists and marine scientists are questioning how long the Japanese can consume this much fish and still call it part of their culture. Without time to adapt to a life with not as much fish Japan is predicted to have a food crisis within the next few decades.
Tokyo has the biggest fish market in the world. It is eleven times the volume of New York’s fish market. The Tokyo fish market (Tsukiji) ranks in every measurable category there is. It is very busy and close to downtown Tokyo. It is old and worn; a very used part of town. The Tokyo wholesale market handles 2,888 tons a day of marine animals and products. The market handles more than 400 different kinds of seafood. The fish market imports from about 60 countries. Products range from live eel to pickled octopus to tuna longer than a human, and weight ranging from 200 to 1,000 pounds. Most people who sell tuna can sell 200 in a half an hour. All the money changing hands each day comes to an average of about 28 million dollars. The business there is very serious and there are many rules such as no high-heeled shoes, and no flash photography in the morning tuna auction.
What is the largest garbage dump? Surprisingly, it's the ocean. All over the world, especially in Japan, there is a lot of pollution in the ocean. Pollution includes different chemicals, metals, plastic bags, bottles, food, clothing detergent, oil from tanker leaks, waste water, and cars and submarines dumped to the bottom of the sea. Over the past decade there has been a concern of dumping radioactive waste in the Sea of Japan's coastal waters. Scientists say toxic slime is rising from the depths. Run-off from pollutants has changed the basic chemistry of the ocean. An average person in Japan uses about 250 liters of wastewater a day, which is about a bathtub full of water every day. In Japan all wastewater is treated but 65% of all wastewater runs into rivers with no treatment at all.
Fishing has been Japan’s main income for decades, but now it seems they may have to incorporate another change into their life style, one without eating so much fish . To preserve the remaining fisheries and allow seafood to continue to play a large role in Japanese culture, Japan will need creative technology for waste disposal, protection of existing fish populations, and a shift in food sources.