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Q:
I had to post this. I just saw a Blue Fin Tuna sell for $736,000. One of my earliest memories is of a gentleman who had a giant Tuna sticking out the back of his station wagon. This was in Montauk point in the mid 50's. I asked him what he was going to do with the fish. He replied they were selling it for cat food! How times have changed and how small the world has become.
Question by Carl Huber. Uploaded on January 05, 2012
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Answers (9)
have you seen some of the food Japanese people make and eat some might be considered cat food to us, but very true pretty amazing what the laws of supply and demand can do to fish like this.
I sorry I didn't mean to infer that Asians eat cat food. I just was commenting on how the world has changed. Being of German extraction and married to an Italian girl. I can't throw rocks. Well I can mention about twenty dishes that had to originate out of hunger or at least a BET. IE blood sausage, pickled ox cheeks, stuffed squid, sour lung and heart. The list could go on.
Up until the '50's and even '60's all the BFT were used for was cat food. At that point, industrial freezer/processor ships became good enough to freeze whole giant fish and get them back to Japan. So Japan started taking as many BFTs as they could. The western Atlantic stock crashed in less than ten years. The eastern stock, which has always been more productive (and more heavily pressured because they spawn in the heavily fished Mediterranean Sea), was then worked over and at this point there is significant scientific questions about whether or not the BFT is being so overfished that the stocks will never recover. A huge problem is that because the fish are so valuable now and there is such a thriving black market for the fish there is significant IUU (illegal, unregulated, and unreported) fishing going on for the fish meaning the numbers the scientists are working with to determine "overfishing" really have no meaning at all. It's a sad state of affairs...
With the illegal fishing that is unknown about all over the world I would say that their fate is doomed, especially when the price reaches those proportions. When the price gets that high on anything they are in trouble. Most of the foreign countries don't know what regulations are when it comes to commercial fishing.
Some environmentalists are worried about dolphins being caught in tuna nets. I guess the logic is that the cuter the species, the more protection it gets.
Sargeo1, hopefully not. A Biologist just successfully breeded Bluefins. He says he can farm them.
Sarge01; Looking back I can attest to what your saying. As a child there were no size or catch limitations in salt water. Foreign boats could be viewed from shore and drag nets were launched from shore. These were hauled in and desirable fish were kept, others were thrown back dead or injured. 15-20 sharks were brought in daily. Yellow fin tuna were 50 cents a piece,striped bass a buck. Lobster tail cooked was 50 cents a lbs. at Gosman's dock. When we fished in a row boat we kept Fluke over a foot. Blow fish were a pest and mackerel could be caught a every second cast. You might say that these memories are through a child's eyes. I can assure you they are not. With the current laws the stock is returning but slowly. Things have changed; and they can revert in a heart beat. Unfortunately the human species needs policing. PS As a 10 year old I saw my biggest great white. I was harpooned by Capt. Mundas and was as big around as a VW beetle; my younger brother could crawl into the mouth. The teeth were 2 inches long.
Blue Fin Tuna is not considered cat food to any culture around the globe. Maybe some fatcats on Wall St. maybe.
Sayfu; Only lately. In the old days it was considered a dry trash fish. It wasn't till 1907 that Peter Duran found out how to can it in oil or brine did it become popular. Then in the 60's the whole raw tuna came into fashion. Lobster had the same time line. When it was plentiful; this large ocean bug was feed to the help! Admit it it was a very hungry or brave man that ate the first Oyster!
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Up until the '50's and even '60's all the BFT were used for was cat food. At that point, industrial freezer/processor ships became good enough to freeze whole giant fish and get them back to Japan. So Japan started taking as many BFTs as they could. The western Atlantic stock crashed in less than ten years. The eastern stock, which has always been more productive (and more heavily pressured because they spawn in the heavily fished Mediterranean Sea), was then worked over and at this point there is significant scientific questions about whether or not the BFT is being so overfished that the stocks will never recover. A huge problem is that because the fish are so valuable now and there is such a thriving black market for the fish there is significant IUU (illegal, unregulated, and unreported) fishing going on for the fish meaning the numbers the scientists are working with to determine "overfishing" really have no meaning at all. It's a sad state of affairs...
With the illegal fishing that is unknown about all over the world I would say that their fate is doomed, especially when the price reaches those proportions. When the price gets that high on anything they are in trouble. Most of the foreign countries don't know what regulations are when it comes to commercial fishing.
Sargeo1, hopefully not. A Biologist just successfully breeded Bluefins. He says he can farm them.
have you seen some of the food Japanese people make and eat some might be considered cat food to us, but very true pretty amazing what the laws of supply and demand can do to fish like this.
I sorry I didn't mean to infer that Asians eat cat food. I just was commenting on how the world has changed. Being of German extraction and married to an Italian girl. I can't throw rocks. Well I can mention about twenty dishes that had to originate out of hunger or at least a BET. IE blood sausage, pickled ox cheeks, stuffed squid, sour lung and heart. The list could go on.
Some environmentalists are worried about dolphins being caught in tuna nets. I guess the logic is that the cuter the species, the more protection it gets.
Sarge01; Looking back I can attest to what your saying. As a child there were no size or catch limitations in salt water. Foreign boats could be viewed from shore and drag nets were launched from shore. These were hauled in and desirable fish were kept, others were thrown back dead or injured. 15-20 sharks were brought in daily. Yellow fin tuna were 50 cents a piece,striped bass a buck. Lobster tail cooked was 50 cents a lbs. at Gosman's dock. When we fished in a row boat we kept Fluke over a foot. Blow fish were a pest and mackerel could be caught a every second cast. You might say that these memories are through a child's eyes. I can assure you they are not. With the current laws the stock is returning but slowly. Things have changed; and they can revert in a heart beat. Unfortunately the human species needs policing. PS As a 10 year old I saw my biggest great white. I was harpooned by Capt. Mundas and was as big around as a VW beetle; my younger brother could crawl into the mouth. The teeth were 2 inches long.
Blue Fin Tuna is not considered cat food to any culture around the globe. Maybe some fatcats on Wall St. maybe.
Sayfu; Only lately. In the old days it was considered a dry trash fish. It wasn't till 1907 that Peter Duran found out how to can it in oil or brine did it become popular. Then in the 60's the whole raw tuna came into fashion. Lobster had the same time line. When it was plentiful; this large ocean bug was feed to the help! Admit it it was a very hungry or brave man that ate the first Oyster!
Post an Answer