The future of Japanese fishing

by Jon Bowermaster on

Given the hammering Japan’s fishing towns took thanks to the earthquake/tsunami and the continued leaking of Japan’s Fukushima nuclear plant it is legitimate to question the future of fish in the region.

Just like the fishermen in the Gulf after the BP spill, seafood providers across Japan are concerned about an inevitable public relations fall out even if its fish stays available and safe, i.e. non-radioactive.

While the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, the world’s biggest — selling more than 400 species of fish six days a week, a $5.5 billion a year business providing 40 million Japanese fish-lovers – has not yet backed off selling anything, buyers have fallen off due to a lack of fish.

The most immediate concern is that so many of the small towns in the north – and their boats, docks, jetties, nets, tackle and fishermen – are gone. Fish farms and onshore processing plants have been wiped out, hundreds of thousands of wild fish washed onto shore, dead. As a result, scallops, sardines, oysters, seaweed, bonito and even shark’s fin have largely disappeared from Tsukiji in the past week.

The normally packed aisles of the sprawling market – the equivalent of 200 football fields under one roof — are quiet. “We’re not selling anything because there are no customers,” one wholesaler at the market reported. Sales to restaurants have fallen off too.” Sushi restaurants near the market are suffering too, in part due to the lack of tourists.Tsukiji’s general manager, Tsutomu Kosaka, told the New York Times, “It’s not like the brand is just damaged now – it’s over. At least for now, the brand is finished. Gone. It’s hopeless.”

The early consensus based on what’s happened so far at the struggling nuclear plant is that fish pulled from the sea off Japan should be safe, given that winds and currents will disperse any potentially dangerous particles before they can pollute. But Japan’s seafood export business – $2.4 billion last year – will definitely take a hit.

South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, India, Singapore and the Philippines announced more intense screening of seafood from Japan. Many restaurants across Asia have stopped buying seafood from Japan. “Until the situation stabilizes in the country, it seems unlikely that guests will feel comfortable consuming Japanese products,” said the manager of the Hong-Kong-based Mandarin Oriental International hotels. The Four Season Hotel’s, also Hong Kong-based, has suspended import of all Japanese food, including scallops and abalone, buying instead from New Zealand and Australia, Scotland and Indonesia.

While dairy products (milk and eggs), grains, vegetables and meat might be susceptible to radioactivity exposure experts suggest that the impact on fish will be “negligible.”

Far from Japan, in Mumbai, caution was being taken. “You don’t know which fish is contaminated and which one is not. So the precautionary principle is to ban all fish coming from there,” said one nuclear expert.

The reality is that relatively little Japanese seafood makes it to the U.S.; your corner sushi restaurant is more likely to get its fish from China, Chile or Thailand. Most imports were stopped before the nuclear plants started leaking. Still the FDA said it may “increase and target product sampling” of goods from Japan for contamination.

One market that will most likely grow? Export of seafood from the U.S. to Japan, currently a $750 million a year industry. The 127 million Japanese depend on seafood as a staple, consuming twenty percent of the world’s seafood. But for the moment almost all exporting to Japan is on hold as the country rebuilds its infrastructure; simply delivering goods to many corners of the country has stopped.

But the short-term future of Japan’s fisheries may be most affected by perception rather than reality. The market for Gulf seafood is way off, nearly one year after the BP spill. Given the massive destruction along Japan’s coastline, the impact on its fishing grounds – and fish — could be felt far longer.

Video: Arcade Fire at Coachella

by Elizabeth Seward on

Music festivals are one of the best ways to spend your sweet summer time. Although we’re still a ways off from the official launch of summer, many music fans consider Coachella the beginning of summer… or, at least, the beginning of summer festivals. As the season of love via live music swings fuller into gear, I’ll help you navigate as many music festivals as I can. But for now, lets talk about Coachella.

Coachella is one of the bigger USA music festivals each year and it’s safe to say that the festival acts as a vacation destination for people across the globe. With 225,000 attendees last year, this year’s festival had a whole lot of hype leading up to its launch. Coachella just wrapped up last night and in case you haven’t heard, it seems as though there might have been some desert-style drama at the event, both good and bad.

Kanye West slammed the event and other event performers. Cee Lo Green showed up late and blamed the festival for his tardiness. But on a more positive energy note, Arcade Fire illuminated their audience with a set you can check out in the video above.

The magic of Bagan – 3 days in Burma

by Justin Delaney on

Bagan is an ancient city in a troubled country. Thousands of temples, pagodas, and stupas unfold across the dusty plains as if they have grown here organically from the ground for millenia. It is a place that feels older than time. The ambitions of this primeval capital are evident in every direction. The sheer number of ancient structures is at once baffling and awe-inspiring. No place on earth reflects this grandiose quality of scale as much as Bagan.

Reaching Bagan requires some motivation, but the journey is worth it. First, one must travel to Burma’s old capital, Yangon (Rangoon). This is possible and cheap on Air Asia and can be accomplished from either Bangkok or Kuala Lumpur. Alternately, JetStar flies to Yangon from Singapore. Once in Yangon, traveling to Bagan can be accomplished by domestic flight, bus, or train. Flights can be purchased at Yangon airport or through a tour company in advance for under $100 each way. The flight takes under one hour. While several airlines exist, I prefer Air Bagan. By train, the journey departs in the afternoon and arrives the morning of the following day. For train timetables, check the man in seat sixty-one. If you are really a sucker for torture, take the overnight bus from Yangon to Bagan. Both train and bus tickets can be purchased at the Yangon train station. Upon arrival, all visitors are required to purchase a $10 ticket for entry to Bagan.

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Day One – Explore Old Bagan by bicycle
One of the best things about Bagan is its remoteness and lack of tourist hordes. It is a tough place to reach, and therefore you will have much of it to yourself. If Bagan existed in a more tourist friendly country, then this would not be the case. This combination of ancient splendor and tepid tourism is unparalleled in the modern world. It makes for great exploration. You are free to take it all in without dodging flappy-hatted loons shuffling off of tourist buses.

Renting a bicycle and exploring Bagan brings to focus the completeness and size of this ancient wonderland. The emptiness is haunting and not unlike traveling back in time. Thousands and thousands of crumbling pagodas stretch out for miles – baking in the hot Burmese sun. Find a dirt road and set out in any given direction, stopping to investigate charming ruins along the way. When entering temples, be sure to always leave your shoes or sandals at the entrance, or you risk offending your gracious Burmese hosts. You will meet several kind locals, many of which speak English. Some sell handmade paintings and lacquerware for attractive prices. Near dusk, climb to a peaceful vantage point on a tall pagoda and watch the sun set beyond the ethereal plains.

After the sun sets, stop into a local eatery for dinner. Yar Pyi Vegetarian Restaurant is a family run affair and serves delicious vegetarian platters.

For lodging, Kaday Aung is a great low cost option with $21 rooms and a nightly puppet show. For an upscale option, Kumudara is a great hotel. Both options have swimming pools. A night swim is a great way to end a day on the dusty plains.

Day Two – Mount Popa and rural villages
Start your day with breakfast at your hotel or guesthouse and arrange for a driver to take you to Mount Popa and the nearby volcanic plug of Taung Kalat. Mount Popa is an ancient volcano reaching a mile into the sky from the flat plains of central Burma. Taung Kalat dramatically erupts out of the earth next to Mount Popa – a striking aberration in the rolling hills and plains. A monastery precariously grips the pinnacle of Taung Kalat and is a popular point of pilgrimage. Gangs of monkeys occupy the 777 steps that slither to the top. The macaques posture for edible handouts and generally cause mischief.

At the summit, Popa Taung Kalat Monastery is home to the 37 Great Nats – ancient spirits of Burmese legends. Many of the Nats died violent deaths and have lived on in spirit form atop this steep precipice 30 miles outside of Bagan. The worship of Nats predates Buddhism, though has been widely incorporated into the Buddhist religion, especially in rural Burma. Pilgrims give offerings to specific Nats for specific types of spiritual assistance, ranging from beauty to luck. For example, an offering of whiskey to Min Kyawzwa will give you immense luck in gambling. In life, Min Kyawzwa lived a rowdy life filled with boozy cockfighting and expert horsemanship. The Nats’ place atop Taung Kalat and their worship as ancient spirits is analogous to Mount Olympus and the gods of Greek mythology.

The climb is not arduous at all, though bring some water. Since you must leave your shoes at the entrance, you will be humbly sidestepping monkey poo en route to the summit. The views from the top of Taung Kalat are unparalleled, and on a clear day, you can see all the way to Bagan.

After leaving the Mount Popa area, visit one of the many rural villages that hug the bumpy road back to Bagan. Rural families are extremely welcoming and will give you a silent tour of their iron age cooking apparatuses and moody bovine roommates. Outdoor classrooms are filled with little monks and villagers will offer free handfuls of salty fresh cooked peanuts. There are many rural delights in small villages where life is undeniably simple.

Day Three – Temple hopping with a guide
On your third day, hire a local English speaking guide to show you some of the main temples in Bagan. Hiring a local guide is very inexpensive and will provide an informative angle on Bagan’s history. Your guide may also want to indulge in the taboo of discussing the Myanmar political situation. While cruising across the temple scattered lowlands, your betel nut chewing comrade may wax political on a number of eyeopening topics. The setting and topical nature of conversation can make for a powerfully resonating experience. Don’t press the political topic though. Some guides are government employees, or worse, spies. It is wise to err on the side of caution when discussing politics and to let your Burmese hosts instigate conversation. Your guesthouse or hotel will be able to arrange a sufficient guide.

Some of the top temples in Bagan include Shwezigon Pagoda, Ananda Temple, Dhammayangyi, and Thatbyinnyu. Shwezigon houses Buddha’s tooth along with some of his bones. The glittering dome was originally built in the 12th century and is a fine example of a golden stupa. It is similar to Shwedagon in Yangon, except without the crowds. Ananda temple in Old Bagan is almost a thousand years old and done in an entirely different style. The monk architects that designed and built Ananda were murdered by King Kyanzittha after completion to insure that no temple like it would ever be built again. The structure is said to be perfectly symmetrical with an interior ambiance similar to a Himalayan cave. Onward, the massive Dhammayangyi temple is the largest structure in Bagan, but the interior has been mysteriously bricked up.

Exploring the larger temples and stupas is a rewarding experience. Your guide can explain the contours of history surrounding each temple, framing the significance of their existence. At each temple, you must remove your shoes and socks before entering. Since many temple grounds have large outdoor areas, your feet will be scorched by the sun baked tile and brick ground. Racing between shaded clearings like a hobbled geriatric is an awkward and humorous component to temple exploration.

Near dusk, head over to Shwe San Daw pagoda. Follow the steps up to one of the high terraces for a great view out over the plains. It is the perfect location to watch the sun set over Old Bagan and the Irrawaddy river to the west – a worthy ending to a sidestepping journey through time.

Other things to know
American dollars are widely accepted in Burma, but be warned, every dollar is heavily scrutinized and few will be appropriate enough for the intense Burmese qualifications. U.S. dollars cannot be too old or too new. The bills must also not have any creases or markings. The smallest marks, creases, and blemishes are examined like a diamond under a loupe.

Of the $1000 I brought with me to Burma, about $200 was in good enough condition to be accepted anywhere. It drove me crazy. The meticulous attention to detail was made all the more ironic by the decrepit looking Kyat that only my crispest U.S. dollars would be exchanged for. Kyat were frequently taped together and falling apart.

Since there are no ATMs in the entire country and credit cards are essentially useless, it is easy to be put in a very uncomfortable situation. I suggest bringing Baht for insurance since the Thai currency is not scrutinized at all and is generally accepted at a decent rate.

All photography by Justin Delaney

Nature Valley kicks off 2011 Preserve the Parks campaign

by Kraig Becker on

As we’ve mentioned on several occasions recently, Saturday kicked off National Parks Week here in the U.S. To help celebrate, Nature Valley, in conjunction with the National Parks Conservation Association, launched their 2011 Preserve the Parks campaign in the beautiful desert near Joshua Tree in California.

Nature Valley started the campaign last year after their customers expressed how much they loved the national parks. In 2010, the Preserve the Parks program raised $400,000 for the NPCA, with those funds going directly to protect national parks from a variety of threats. The 2011 edition of Preserve the Parks hopes to raise even more money, while also taking a more direct, active role in the preservation of these fantastic natural spaces.

This year, Preserve the Parks has a charismatic and charming spokesman to help spread the word about the campaign. Josh Holloway, who played Sawyer on the television show Lost, is an avid outdoorsman who also happens to love America’s national parks. He was on hand for the kickoff event this past weekend to not only help get the festivities underway, but to also get a little dirty too. Holloway joined a host of volunteers who went to work building trails and helping to protect the habitat of desert tortoises that inhabit the region around Joshua Tree.I had the opportunity to chat with Josh on several occasions throughout the day and came away quite impressed. This isn’t the case of a celebrity spokesperson slapping their name on a project and paying lip service to it. Josh truly does have a love for the outdoors and was eager to lend a hand in the actual physical work of the day. For most of the morning he had a shovel, rake, or other tool in his hand, and was doing his part alongside the rest of the volunteers who were there to take part in a restoration project.

Despite the warm weather (temperatures approached 95 degrees Fahrenheit) the Nature Valley event drew an impressive turnout from volunteers. After a brief orientation about the area, including instructions on how to avoid stepping on a tortoise den, we were off on a mile long hike to the various work sites. Once there, we broke into teams that took on a variety of projects that included clearing trails of plants and other debris to more clearly define where to walk, as well as restructuring part of the landscape to allow water to flow naturally, without causing undue erosion. These simple efforts can go a long way toward protecting the area and ensuring that those who visit it can pass through without endangering the creatures that live there.

Nature Valley has a number of other similar events planned for the summer ahead, when the program will really kick into high gear. Those events will take place in Yellowstone, Acadia, Biscayne and several other national parks. Details on those events has yet to be completed, but you can watch the Preserve the Parks website for details on when they’ll be occurring and how you might be able to join in.

National Parks Week is a time that is dedicated to celebrating the spectacular natural beauty that exists inside America’s wilderness wonderlands. It is also a great time to acknowledge some of the threats that face the parks, such as environmental concerns, land management issues, lack of funding, and more. Organizations like Nature Valley and the NPCA recognize the importance of the parks on American culture and are working hard to protect them for future generations to enjoy as well. Programs such as the Preserve the Parks campaign are a perfect model of how businesses, non-profits, and grassroots activists can all work together to improve and protect the parks.

This trip was payed for by Nature Valley, but the ideas and opinions expressed here are my own.

The effect of Japan’s tsunami on whaling

by Jon Bowermaster on

In an ironic twist of fate, Japan’s recent tsunami may have accomplished something conservationists have been fervently attempting for years: Driving a final nail into its pro-active whaling communities.

The first outsiders only recently reached the small town of Ayukawahama, which was crushed by thirty-foot waves. So was the headquarters of the biggest business in town, Ayukawa Whaling, one of the country’s most prodigious hunters of big whales.

The waves rushed six hundred feet inland, wiping out 80 percent of the town’s 700 homes. Four hundred of its 1,400 residents are missing, assumed dead. The peninsula town is described as having been reduced to “an expanse of splintered wood and twisted cars.”

In these days two weeks after the natural disaster the impact on the whaling town carries a kind of finality. Ayukawa lives off whaling. It is one of just four communities in Japan home to small fleets that twice a year hunt whales in waters close to Japan, differentiating them from the fleet that heads to the Southern Ocean each November.

“There is no Ayukawa without whaling,” said a 27-year-old whaler.The four boats of Ayukawa Whaling were sucked out to sea by the retreating tsunami waves, thrown back onto shore a mile down the coastline. The company’s 28 employees ran for the hills. All survived but have now been laid off.

The company’s chairman told the New York Times that while he hoped to rebuild the factory, refloat the company’s boats and get back to hunting whales, he admitted it wouldn’t be any time soon. It will take months and lots of money to pull his boats back onto the sea; his processing plant for whale meat was reduced to splinters.

Nearby the daughter of a 54-year-old woman scavenging for food found a tin of whale meat among the debris. “I wish we could eat whale meat every day,” said the 17-year-old. “But the whalers are so old, I think they’ll just quit or retire after what has happened.

“I think whaling is dead here.”

During the height of the Southern Ocean campaign which usually runs from November to March, many news stories can make it seem like whale hunting – and whale meat eating — is a passion for all Japanese. The reality is that Japan does not thrive on whale meat and there are increasingly fewer companies engaged in whale hunting.

Despite the success of the Sea Shepherd’s this past season – its successful harassment forcing the Japanese to end its season early and reducing its take by some 75 percent, to less than 200 whales – the tsunami waves may ultimately get credit for stopping the hunt.

If you follow the exploits of Sea Shepherd and its outspoken leader, Captain Paul Watson, you’d think they might be celebrating aboard its mother ship, the “Steve Irwin.” But Watson’s public reaction has been appropriately muted:

“Nature does not play favorites and just as the earthquake struck New Zealand recently, the fires ravaged Australia two years ago, and the tsunami struck India and Thailand not so very long ago, the message is clear — we all share the dangers of living on the water planet called earth,” he wrote.

“In the face of such peril from the forces of nature, we are all equal.

I have heard many people say that Japan’s tragedy is karma. People who say such things do not understand the concept of karma. This earthquake struck Japan purely on the basis of geography and geology.”

In another twist, the Japanese factory processing ship “Nisshin Maru,” which the Shepherd’s had hounded back to port a month early, is being used by the Japanese government to deliver aid supplies (charcoal, 100,000 noodle cups, kerosene, cranes) to the hard-hit north.

“Sea Shepherd believes that the ‘Nisshin Maru’ should be permanently converted into a humanitarian aid vessel,” suggested its website.

But the Japanese have rebuilt from the dust before and started over, with great success. One Ayukawa whaler was quoted two days after the tsunami: “As long as there are people who will carry on whaling in the absence of vessels or facilities, whaling could be revived … eventually.”