The King Of Sushi

(CBS)  This segment was originally broadcast on Jan. 13, 2008. It was updated on Sept. 4, 2008.

Sushi is becoming so popular these days, you can find it in grocery stores all over America. But it's distinctly Japanese, and the Japanese have turned sushi into a multibillion-dollar international business.

Sushi wouldn't be sushi without tuna, particularly bluefin tuna. It is so revered in Japan that they call it the" king of sushi."

But as correspondent Bob Simon reported last January, the bluefin is in deep trouble.

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Fresh bluefin tuna arrives in style at Tokyo's Narita airport every day, from all over the world. They are carefully packed in crates and unloaded onto palettes often less than 24 hours after being caught.

It's delivered on ice, in custom-made wooden boxes called "coffins," to the Tokyo fish market, which is called Tsukiji. It's the place where the world's top sushi chefs get their fish.

More fish flow through Tsukiji than any other market on earth. More money, too: $4 billion a year. In today's global economy, fishermen from around the world watch the prices set at Tsukiji, which enables them to figure out what their catch is worth.

Harvard anthropology professor Ted Bestor understands the movement of money and tuna. He's been studying Japanese sushi culture for the last 20 years. "This place is the nerve center of a global fishing industry," he explains.

"Sort of like a Wall Street of fish," Simon remarks.

"Yeah. It is. It is," Bestor agrees. "There's no futures market, no derivatives. But other than that, it's like the Wall Street of fish."

At four o'clock every morning, six days a week, the buyers arrive at the market's fresh tuna hall to check out what's on offer.

How do buyers tell what's good and not so good?

"Well, if you look over you can see them rolling the tuna over on their side, looking in the belly. They're looking for the fat content. They're looking for the color of the meat. They're x-raying the fish and then you'll see that they'll take a little piece and they'll rub it between their thumb and forefingers. And that's to get a sense of the oil content," Bestor explains.

"So these guys must be the toughest customers in the world," Simon remarks.

"Absolutely," Bestor agrees. "They know their fish inside and out."

Bestor says the buyers also know the market inside out and are prepared to pay the highest price in the world.

The average price of a single bluefin tuna is anywhere between $2,000 and $20,000. It all depends on the size, the season, and their fat content - the fattier, the better.

Tsunenori Ida is one of the most respected buyers in the market. His family has been bidding on top quality bluefin for seven generations.

He's well versed in the auctioneers' lingo and he knows the signals. Within seconds, Ida has bid for and bought the most expensive tuna at today's auction, a 450 pounder for $8,500.

Ida is the master of the house of Hicho, a wholesaler supplying Tokyo's most exclusive sushi restaurants. He wields his blades like a latter day samurai.

Like everything in Japan, cutting apart the tuna is a ceremony. The fresh bluefin is massaged and stroked as befitting a king. The masters even have what they call "Maguro No Kaiwa," conversations with the tuna. Ida appeals to the fish to make him proud and give him their best.

The demand for the freshest bluefin tuna from the world's most exclusive restaurants is insatiable. So how is this global yen for bluefin satisfied? Well, globally, from the coast of Japan, the Gulf of Maine, Mexico or the Mediterranean.

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[tsimoht]

Hello,

I was just watching this documentary. One thing I noticed is this: the Cessna pusher-pull aeroplanes, which were shown in the issue, used in the Mediterranean fishing have N-numbers. N-numbers are US registered aircraft, so if these aeroplanes are being used in illegal activities, they should be subject to US laws. I do not know if the aeroplanes shown are being used in these allegedly illegal activities, but if they are, these aeroplanes may be subject to US laws. It might be something to into which to look.

[Junglepam]

Ok no disagreement on the role that Japan plays here but didn't anyone even note that the market is insatiable WORLD WIDE? Its not just Japan, you can buy Sushi EVERYWHERE in the U.S. So before you brand the evil Japanese and terrible Chinese, ask yourself how often you pick up sushi in the supermarket, or hey how often do you buy TUNA in a can, or eat tuna at a restaurant in any form?

You know before we all blame people halfway around the world we need to look at our own actions. The problem is humans consume everything, food, natural resources etc... tuna is just the latest hot comodity. The reality is no matter what we as a race eat, its going to impact our environment.

Eating healthy could be partially to blame, less red meat more fish. What is the impact of that?

[Dmaster911]

Although I don't like how fast we are depleting the fish population, sushi is extremely delicious. I am apart of a program called NaGISA, and our goal is to examine the causes behind the population changes in wildlife around the globe.

http://steakmeatsushi.com
http://www.nwfnagisa.com

[no_nonesense]

I posted a comment on 9/7. What happened to it? There was also a poster before me. It''s not here either.

[superdem]

I saw a special on the Australian tuna fishing industry. They spot the schools from a plane, then the first boat motors into the school, throwing out live and frozen anchovies to keep the school clustered around this boat while a second ship lays a huge net all around the school. Then they catch one or two with a hook and line to gauge the average size, since tuna group together by size. If the tuna are the right size, they take the entire school alive, and put them into floating pens which are dragged around the ocean until they have their "quota" then the floating pens are dragged back home where the live tuna are "fattened up" - it was fascinating but I kept thinking - not a single fish got away, entire schools are captured, hundreds of thousands of these fish and none of them would ever reproduce. They were handled with kid gloves because even one bruise or injury to the fish rendered it almost worthless to the Japanese - yes, all these fish were destined for Japan to fetch these incredible prices. No wonder these fish are being driven to extinction.

[lynnk8]

I find it appalling, offensive and gringe whenever I hear people call "raw fish" sushi.... when Bob Simon did this report on Tuna, I finally had it! I would think that he would of looked up the word he was reporting on and make the correction to the world! Let''s get this straight Mr Simon and everyone else - "Sushi" is cooked RICE made with vinegar and usually wrapped with nori (but not always). "Sashimi" (pronounced: sa-she-me) is cut raw fish.

[gerrycgc]

The extinction of Bluefin may not happen. As Tuna Steaks are now considered a High Mercury Fish. You should eat only occasionally because of the high mercury content. One day they could be considered toxic waste!

[gerrycgc]

The extinction of Bluefin may not happen. As Tuna Steaks are now considered a High Mercury Fish. You should eat only occasionally because of the high mercury content. One day they could be considered toxic waste!

[wineberry]

Well, I correct myself in saying the disappearance of the human species. What I should have said is the disappearance of money from the earth, for that is what is fueling most of the near extinction of wild animals from the planet, and eventually the extinction all of them. What will humans that are killing off animals for profit do then? Perhaps people were given dominion over the earth, but people kill living things that are more intelligent than they are on a daily basis. Someday nature will strike back in a big way.

[wineberry]

The disappearance of the human species is probably the best thing that could happen for the animal, and perhaps plant species of the world.