Japanese financial giant Nomura profits from lack of fish

Japan's list of environmental sins is growing. If it wasn't already pushing the boundaries of acceptable behaviour by killing whales in the Southern Ocean and slaughtering dolphins in Taiji it

now seems that Japan's industrial and financial giants want to get in on the act.

Mitsubishi have tried to corner the market by stockpiling 40% of the world's supply of critically endangered bluefin tuna and now Nomura Securities Company appear to be doing similar with other overexploited fish and 'seafood' marine species.

As the world's fisheries fail and demand for fish increases, Nomura hope to make a killing by creating the world's first investment trust specifically targeting global 'seafood' and fisheries related businesses.

For more on this story visit here http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=9&id=37607&l=e&special=&ndb=1%20target=

Please sign a petition to stop Nomura Inc. from investing in ocean extinction http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/stop-nomura39s-16-billion-ocean-raid/

The IUCN sees red

Our marine ecosystem is under threat like never before in the history of humanity. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) 33% of cartilaginous fishes and 15% of bony fishes are now threatened.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) report states that due to overfishing, catches are seeing fewer and fewer large-bodied predatory fish, and more species lower on the food chain, such as jellyfish. Furthermore, overexploitation has put 20 species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List as threatened with extinction.

Due to overfishing, 19% of all fish stocks are now overexploited, 8% are depleted, 52% fully exploited, with only 1% showing signs of recovery according to the (CBD) Technical Report for the Global Biodiversity.

The UN biodiversity meeting in Japan has agreed a 10 year plan aimed at preserving 10% of the oceans by 2020. These are regarded as too small by many conservation scientists, who point out that the existing target for oceans is already 10%.

Protect sharks before it's too late

Very few pictures sum up the plight of sharks quite as well as Alex Hofford's photos of the shark processing factory at Kesen-numa City, Japan.

Unless sharks are given some form of worldwide protection within the next couple of years or so it is looking increasingly likely that we will lose the vast majority of this facinating and ecologically vital species forever.

See more of Alex Hofford's disturbing pictures here -

http://www.alexhoffordphotography.com/node/2333