Adam Yamaguchi: Current TV's Vanguard — Sushi to the Slaughter

Adam Yamaguchi said it plainly: "With the Bluefin Tuna you cannot hatch them, which means that whatever we eat comes from the wild — so there is no reple…" — and Premier Guide Miami was in the room when it happened.

Adam Yamaguchi is an Asian-American reporter and an avid sushi lover. His love for sushi led him to investigate the endangerment of one of his favorite fish — the Bluefin Tuna. This investigation spanned across oceans all the way to Japan, where he learned some pretty startling things about the potential demise of the species. Premier Guide Miami caught up with him ahead of the premiere of Current TV Vanguard: "Sushi to the Slaughter," airing Tuesday, July 12 at 9:00 PM ET.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Your latest documentary is about the potential demise of the Bluefin Tuna. Would you like to speak on that?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: The Bluefin Tuna is one of the largest, and in terms of ecology one of the most important fish in the sea. When you talk about sushi, the majority of that is raw tuna, and most of that tuna comes from the Bluefin. There are a number of species of tuna, but the primary tuna you are talking about is the Bluefin. In certain parts of the Atlantic Ocean we are on the verge of seeing the population collapse, in large part because of the exploding market for sushi. Sushi had been the cuisine for one medium-size country, and what we have seen in the last twenty to thirty years is an explosion in its popularity. That is how I came across the story. When I was a kid I grew up as the only Japanese-American in my high school and elementary school. I was the only one eating sushi. The kids used to tease me and say that is so gross. And just in a half generation's time, sushi has become this global cuisine. Here in Los Angeles you can find multiple sushi restaurants on every block. So it peaked a little curiosity in me — I thought, this clearly has an impact if this many more people are eating fish. And it turns out it is having quite an impact.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: What sparked this sushi explosion?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: I am a sushi lover — it tastes amazing. As American diets have evolved over the years and we have become more exposed to cuisines from around the world, people have turned to Japanese cuisine. It is very healthy, and people were looking at alternatives to beef, pork, and chicken and found tuna in the form of sushi, which is very healthy, different, and much lighter. As a sushi lover, once you've had it, it's hard to turn away from it — and that is part of the problem. When you speak of cows and chickens, these things are farmed and then eventually sent into the food chain. With the Bluefin Tuna you cannot hatch them, which means that whatever we eat comes from the wild, so there is no replenishing of the tuna. We keep taking and taking, and part of that is because the Bluefin Tuna is such a complex animal that we have yet to figure out how to raise properly.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: There are scientists who are trying to farm Bluefin Tuna. Do you think that would have any kind of impact on trying to save the species?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: I think that multiple approaches have to be taken in finding a solution — I don't think there is one single solution. The researchers in Japan are probably the furthest along in terms of successfully hatching and raising these tuna. Regardless of the different approaches, I certainly think that there are solutions and we are not that far off from seeing farms that are going to successfully raise tuna for the commercial market so that we won't have to take too much from the sea. I also think that the other solution is that we as a people have to think about how much we are taking from the sea. People have to start asking themselves whether they have to consume as much as they do. Over the years fish has become such a huge part of the diet of so many people that they are consuming so much. So we have to start considering consuming less of everything.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: Do you think that at some point all fish have the potential of becoming endangered?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: Absolutely. The thing that we have to understand is that every species in the oceans are all interlinked, and there is a sort of harmony that we find not only in the ocean but in the wild in general. One of the issues with farming tuna is that you have to feed them a lot, because these are fish that can weigh up to 700 pounds. For every one kilogram of weight gain you have to feed it seventeen kilograms of other fish — sardines, squid, and so on. So if you are farming these fish you are still having to take from the wild, and that changes the balance of the ecosystem. On the other hand, if there is no more Bluefin Tuna in the ocean, then the balance is thrown the other way.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: The Japanese seem to be largely blamed for the decline of the Bluefin Tuna, but Americans consume and export it in large volume as well — so who are the real culprits here?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: There are a lot of parties involved. The Japanese are the leading consumers of tuna, but I think that there has to be control of how much fish is taken from the sea. This is one of the reasons why the Bluefin is in such dire shape — a lack of proper regulations by all of the countries involved. This can be very difficult because these fish swim thousands of miles across the ocean, so they can be anywhere at any given time. It is going to take the effort of multiple governments to regulate and enforce rules on how much Bluefin Tuna and fish overall is taken from the sea. It has simply become too much of a free-for-all in recent years, mainly because the demand is so high.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: How much regulation do you believe will actually be enforced?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: I think that although they are not going to like these regulations, they are going to have to live with them, because in some parts of the Atlantic we are so close to losing the Bluefin Tuna altogether. Their business would collapse, so in the short term they might not like the regulations. But if they intend to stay in business — or if they care about the environment at all — it is in their best interest to abide by the regulations, allow the Bluefin Tuna to replenish, so that there will be an industry in the future.

PREMIER GUIDE MIAMI: As a Bluefin lover yourself, are you struggling with whether you should continue eating what you love?

ADAM YAMAGUCHI: I am a huge sushi consumer, and since I filmed the story in December in Japan I have only had Bluefin tuna once. I don't really think that is the answer — we all don't have to panic and say we could never have this again. It's just about having it less, so that we can ensure there is a future.

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