Save the Bluefin Tuna

Anyone who has listened to the radio, watched television, read a newspaper, surfed the internet, or chased after celebrity gossip in the past couple of weeks has likely heard about something about a particular sushi chain getting called out for a history of nefarious behavior.

The chain in question is Nobu, the fantastically successful joint venture of renowned chef Nobu Matsuhisa, the Raging Bull himself Robert De Niro, and three other partners. Nobu is a sushi titan, with twenty-four locations in various chic neighborhoods throughout many of the world's most glamorous cities, not to mention a menu replete with dozens of price tags that would make the average recession-choked American both green with envy and red with rage.

Nobu is under siege from all sides for its continual disregard for the health of our planet. The high-end chain sells a tremendous amount of bluefin tuna, much of which is critically endangered Northern bluefin (Thunnus thynnus) from the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. Despite repeated warnings about the looming commercial extinction of this majestic fish from a vast international amalgamation of scientists, actors, conservation organizations, foodies, activists, bloggers, aquaria, filmmakers, politicians, and even a European Prince, Nobu resolutely presses forward, offering no comment and refusing to alter its menu in the slightest. The restaurant's response is akin to a tantrum-throwing child clapping his hands over his ears while stomping his feet, or perhaps to a yoked horse charging towards a cliff regardless of its own life or the lives of those in the stagecoach attached to it. Nobu's arrogant denial of the reality of our mutual challenge -- the continual decline of the health of our oceans -- is a serious problem.

But this is not about just one restaurant. Nobu is a symbol; it represents the old guard of restaurateurs whose lofty perches often distance them from the plebeian masses. Moreover, Nobu is a rallying point -- as an endangered species-slinging, celebrity-owned, stratospherically-priced haunt for the upper crust, it's a perfect target for those who are itching for a greater level of corporate responsibility within the restaurant industry.

Nobu and Greenpeace have a history. Greenpeace has already "outed" Nobu on their unsustainable practices (this interaction is featured in the forthcoming documentary The End of the Line, based on the excellent book by Charles Clover). Nobu promised to label bluefin as an endangered species on all of their menus, but subsequently changed tactics and cut off communications. The one menu that reflects any change whatsoever is at the London branch, which uses a microscopic footnote to indicate that bluefin is "environmentally challenged."

This thunderous understatement aside, Nobu has done absolutely nothing to protect that very fish which has so heavily contributed to the jingling pockets of the restaurant's owners. Our oceans cannot endure this situation any longer.

We view direct confrontation as an avenue of last resort, only to be used when all other tactics have been exhausted. In this case, Nobu has been stonewalling environmental entreaty for over a year while the chain continues to plunder the ocean. To expose and spotlight this audacious behavior, John Hocevar, Greenpeace's Oceans Campaign Director, developed a mock Nobu menu -- a Swiftian satirization of Nobu. What is the difference, the menu suggests, between Northern bluefin and mountain gorilla, Iberian lynx, or California condor? All of these animals are critically endangered. Why is it acceptable to serve the former, when the presence of any of the latter three on a restaurant menu would no doubt solicit a restaurant critic's verbal equivalent of a Molotov cocktail through the front window?

Over the past week, Greenpeace activists in both New York and Los Angeles have staged "dine-ins" at Nobu's TriBeCa and West Hollywood locations, festooning the restaurant with mock menus, taking up table space, and demanding to speak to the manager about Nobu's egregious disregard for our planet's welfare.

The actions were conducted in a precise manner that was aimed at sending a message to upper management without undue disruption of other restaurant patrons. Nobu servers were generously tipped by Greenpeace activists; ownership's head-in-the-sand mentality does not justify behavior that would send the waitresses and waiters, who have no decision-making power but who do have families and livelihoods, home without the tips on which they depend. We are, after all, in a recession.

The point of all this is to take the issue to Nobu on the restaurant's home turf. In addition to being lambasted in the press, demonized in a documentary, and boycotted by celebrities, Nobu now must contend with activists that march directly into the restaurant to speak their minds.

Nobu is a trend-setting establishment that not only spans the globe, but wields incredible influence at the top of the sushi industry food chain. The innovative acumen and staggering talent of Nobu Matsuhisa are undeniable; he is undoubtedly capable of creating delectable dishes from both sustainable and unsustainable sources alike. Why, then, is he so resistant to use these gifts in an environmentally friendly manner?

Still, viewing this issue as "environmentalists v Nobu" is missing the point. Both groups want the same outcome: a healthy and productive ocean that can provide all the ecosystem services to foster sustainable business and healthy living. If Nobu were to drop bluefin and adopt a sustainable business model, it would be in the interest of the environmental community to promote the restaurant and encourage consumers to patronize it, rather than the unfortunate current situation.

Nobu needs to change their practices and begin to demonstrate corporate responsibility. Although environmentally rapacious and irresponsible businesses no longer have a place in this changing world, it is in everyone's interest that sustainable and wisely managed establishments thrive and succeed.

--Written with Greenpeace Campaigner Casson Trenor

Follow Daniel Kessler on Twitter: www.twitter.com/dkess

Comments

[theaetetus]

who eats at Nobu?

Wealthy people.

Who is green marketing targeted at?

Wealthy people.

somethings fishy

[GreenGirl88]

The G8 need to slap sanctions on Japan, and all nations practicing overfishing and exotic fishing at the cost of our life-giving ecosystems. A moratorium for the tuna is in order, and while we're at it, make it a crime to sell and buy shark fins, and sell and buy shark fin soup (INFURIATING AND DESPICABLY CRUEL) and all the other "exotic" dishes which contribute to the extinction and suffering of precious species, and further the practice of cruelty against animals, fish, and mammals. Hundreds of thousands of sharks are thrown back into the ocean, finless, to float to the bottom and drown-an extremely painful and cruel death. And for what? A bowl of fricking soup!!!! There needs to be a multinational enforcement board, not just Greenpeace, to fight these cruel, wasteful practices-Asian nations are in great part responsible for the decline in numbers and extinction of so many fish and animal species it's SCARY!! And the amount of waste IS criminal!! Nobu, while just being the tip of the iceberg, is also a just target, given that they, and we, should all know better. Targeting one makes others that much more visible. Boycott!!

[missouriwatcher]

All countries should work together to assure sustainable fishing. Right now, none are doing so. Maybe we should bring back GreenPeace "ram 'em" tactics.

[westcoastdog]

Why target Nobu? If Nobu closed its doors, the beleaguered tuna would continue its march to extinction. Criticizing Nobu is like throwing a pie at Bill Gates, a publicity gesture, not a strategy to implement systemic changes to the market place. One more example of infantile politics of the left, a movement that relies on protests rather than the difficult task of structural change. Japan imports 30% of the world's tuna catch, and it's European fishermen who are devastating the North Atlantic tuna . Does Nobu have any influence with these groups? Only in the puerile dreams of its critics.

[thunnus]

as a tuna fisherman and sushi lover, i believe it is time to extend CITES protection to atlantic bluefin and for ICCAT to impose a 5 year moratorium on all fishing.

[jeffp26]

Nobu is highly overrated. Not to mind highly overpriced.

Sushi for fools who drive suvs.

[ardeth2]

Stick to vegan sushi. It's particular delicious with avocado. Your body has no need for contaminated raw fish; environmentally speaking it's terribly wasteful; since all fish are sentient it's cruel to kill them; and the healthiest part of sushi is the seaweed, which is vegetal.

[quovadiszero]

Depends on the bunyons... my grandmothers fell off on their own( avoiding cost prohibitive surgery) sadly once slathered with soy, wasabi,and ginger,who can taste the fish, so why waste it only an idiot pays high prices for things they really never taste but imagine they have tasted.... so it is about excess, the legacy of our generation.Also about indulgences to extremes(RIP David) was getting to the next high worth it?

[Billiegt]

When are we going to get it.......it is really up to us.......we control where we shop, what we eat, where we live, and who we vote for. It is time to grab onto that power and say no to folks who are contributing to the decimation of the oceans, pollution of our rivers and streams, and mega corporations who are re-creating our food. DON'T BUY IT! DON'T EAT THERE! BOYCOTT THE JAPANESE FOR WHAT THEY ARE DOING TO THE OCEANS! Shame on you Robert deNiro.

[Peter Mrozik]

Time to boycott DeNiro's movies. Never again will I rent one of his videos. Odd, he seems like an idiot, and his business practices support that view. Find out who the other owners are, and boycott their other business too. Also, how about picketing in front of NOBU? Perhaps someone dressed as a tuna (no, not Charlie) in front might make an impression and gather some attention.

[Scent]

You are right - and sadly decades too late. The fishing fleets have been built and MUST bring in a profit, no matter what. Half of the most eaten fish we got in the last 20 years is on the brink of extinction and the rest is getting there. - But hey! - That's free market to You! - Live and let die. - Well, more like live, take and let die after squeezing every f-ing dollar from it, but there it is.

Sorry, but tuny is low on the list of savable resources. - Right next to everything else for that matter. Ehat brings a profit is good. And saving anything does the opposite.

[BobLablah]

Yes please, save the tuna. For me. I'll be there around 8:00 for dinner.

[umbrage-taker]

It's dead simple really. If enough people stop ordering it, they'll stop fishing it. Keep pushing.

[SiberianRat]

Thanks, Daniel. People suck. Some people really suck.

[Primadonna]

Perhaps its time to join with Sea Shepherd's and actually stop the harvest at sea. They could use additional groups (not the warring politics) to stop the factory ships from raping our oceans. International laws are lawless when there's no one around to enforce them.