It is indeed a sad story and it will only get worse because the Japanese will never listen to any tribunal which decides in an international forum to cease the fishing of these creatures. Be assured of that.

Like the whale problem masquerading as a scientific activity but producing a food that is a luxury food item, the Japanese have their objectives and do not give as damn about the rest of the world. They have shown that over the years commencing in World War II and are content to use up the world's resources and never touch their own. They have pine plantations but prefer to rape and pillage our forests for their woodchips. They use overseas manufacturing at the cheapest rate but also so they do not use up their precious resources. They kill porpoises by the thousands so they cannot eat fish in their waters.

They are, as they always have been , the barbarians of the world.
Nothing has changed with their total philosophy as it has always been...Japan first and last. Arrogance is they motto!

I had to chuckle, rexw, sorry...

>>They [the Japanese] are, as they always have been , the barbarians of the world. Nothing has changed...<<

I immediately got a flashback to the movie "Bridget Jones' Diary", when Bridget's mum say's, somewhat pensively...

"His wife was Japanese. Very cruel race..."

But apart from that, the mathematics are intriguing.

Would not the quoted "individual fish have sold wholesale for up to US$175,000" price the result of the near-extinction, rather than the cause of it?

The obvious question, though, is whether a trading ban would meet the objective, that the "fish could recover, and a more sustainable fishery develop."

If it will still be legal to catch, land and sell within a given country, wouldn't the bluefin tuna boats simply register themselves in Japan, and take all their trade there?

It may be a naive question - I know nothing about the actual process of catching fish - but the economics look extraordinarily attractive.

rexw,

you say the Japanese "use up the world's resources and never touch their own.....so they do not use up their precious resources."

Which resources do you mean? Obviously not their oil/gas/coal reserves.

"they have pine plantations but prefer to rape and pillage our forests for their woodchips" The Japanese do use about 65% of their land for forestry, but use as much as it produces.

As they also only have a small proportion of arable land and a large population, you can see that fish are one of their most important natural resources. It may be as hard to tell Japan what to do in this regard as it would to tell Saudi Arabia what do do with their oil, or Australia with our coal.

Something about your argument smells fishy (sorry couldn't resist)

Surely the Japanese, who are prepared to pay very high prices for the bluefin tuna, would support International measures to ensure sustainable supplies of such a desirable product.
Why would they object to such measures?