Biology Reference
In-Depth Information
ics. The more fish we can raise, the less pressure there will be on the
wild populations.
TUNA IN JAPAN
In September 1990 Yoshitaka Abe, formerly of Ueno Aquarium and
now director of Tokyo Sea Life Park, generously invited Chuck Far-
well, John O'Sullivan, and me to join their chief collector, Hiroshi Saku-
rai, on a trip to the park's tuna-holding facilities in the little fishing vil-
lage of Kasasa on Kyushu Island.
We stayed in a Japanese country inn, where I was introduced to tra-
ditional Japanese customs, which sadly are dying out as Japan becomes
ever more westernized. The beautiful wooden building appeared to be
meticulously constructed with hand tools. The accommodations, gra-
ciously administered by the sta¤, were strictly old-style Japanese, with
no luxuries such as beds or chairs. I'm afraid you need to experience
this lifestyle from childhood, because my old Western bones and joints
complained loudly as I tried to sleep on a skinny futon spread out on
the tatami-mat floor.
Bathing was done squatting on a tiny wooden stool, washing one-
self from a small basin, and drying with a towel that was only slightly
larger than the washcloths we use back home. Following this cleans-
ing, we luxuriated in a communal Japanese hot bath.
The next day Sakurai-san and Sea Life Park collector Toshi Mat-
suyama took us out on a thirty-foot Japanese fishing boat to catch
bluefin tuna. After an hour's run from the harbor we were in the clear,
blue water that tuna like. With the boat still moving forward, the fisher-
man let out two trolling lines from the stern. Each one had a wooden
board a few feet ahead of the lure, which carried a small barbless hook.
The two boards skimmed along on top of the water.
Ve ry soon we had the first strike. The jerk of the fish hitting the lure
flipped the board, which plunged broadside beneath the water. The
increased drag set the hook and let the fisherman know he had a fish.
Hand over hand he pulled the line in, lifted a little ten-inch bluefin
tuna on board, and quickly dropped the fish into a plastic bucket of
seawater. The bucket had a taut nylon line tied across the top, which
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