Among all the tuna in the world, the catch volume of Mcdonald's tuna is the least, but the market price is higher than that of ordinary tuna, even compared with bluefin tuna . Mackerel tuna is an excellent sushi ingredient, and the Japanese who are obsessed with sashimi will naturally not let go of such a "golden" opportunity.
Thunnus maccoyii
In fact, Japan targeted Thunnus maccoyii as its main commercial fishing target as early as the 1950s. At the peak of the fishing industry, Japan's annual fishing volume reached 77,000 tons, accounting for 95% of the global total, and it was unparalleled in the limelight. At this stage, Japan had almost a monopoly on the commercial development of Mcdonald's tuna.
Due to long-term overfishing, the global Mcdonald's tuna resources quickly declined, with the resources reduced by more than 60% in 14 years. As resources are rapidly depleted and catches continue to decline, it is no longer easy for Japan to reproduce the "one-family-dominated" pattern of the past - but it was unexpected that Australia in the southern hemisphere has become the biggest "stumbling block."
The development history of Mcdonald's tuna
Mcdonald's tuna is also known as Masu tuna and southern bluefin tuna. Due to its slow growth, Mcdonald's tuna needs at least 8 years to mature (the natural life span is more than 20 years). . The adult tuna is mostly around 71.5 meters in length, with the largest one reaching 72.5 meters in length and weighing 7260 kilograms in weight. It is the top predator in the ocean.
The commercial development of McFarland's tuna can be traced back to 1952. At that time, there were only two countries that "eat crabs": Japan and Australia. That year, Japan and Australia caught a total of 820 tons of Mcdonald's tuna. Among them, Japan's fishing capacity was stronger and it captured 556 tons of "top-quality sashimi" in one fell swoop, accounting for 68% of the total.
Japan's tuna trading market
By 1961, both Japan and Australia increased their fishing efforts, and the catch reached 81,000 tons, setting a record high in history. Among them, Japan’s catch accounted for more than 90%, and Australia’s catch was only 3,678 tons. The reason behind it is also very simple - at that time, 300 to 350 offshore fishing boats from Japan swarmed to the southern part of the Indian Ocean, specializing in fishing for tuna. The early fishing of
was not restricted by quotas or international regulations. Japanese fishing boats saw the opportunity and seized most of the resources through blanket fishing. Although they met the needs of the domestic market, high-intensity fishing also put great pressure on the wild resources of Mcdonald's tuna. Sure enough, after 1961, the fishing volume of Mcdonald's tuna began to decline (generally), and by 1975, global production dropped to 32,000 tons.
Historical production of Mcdonald's tuna (unit: tons)
In order to protect Mcdonald's tuna resources, Japan, Australia and New Zealand formed an alliance in the 1980s and began to restrict fishing in the form of determined quotas. During this period, South Korea, Indonesia and other countries "operated independently" and "fighted alone" in the fishing grounds of the South Indian Ocean - this unilateral fishing behavior undoubtedly touched the "cheese" of Japan and other countries.
But after all, the McLean tuna resources are "public" and cannot be taken as one's own in the form of a verbal declaration. Therefore, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand had no choice but to establish the Commission for the Conservation of Macadamia Tuna (CCSBT) in 1994 and invite more fishing countries to join and jointly distribute the "cake" in the form of quotas.
Australia’s “Anti-Monopoly”
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, Japan basically had a monopoly on resource development of Mcdonald’s tuna, and Australia, which ranked second, could only follow behind and barely “get a share of the pie.” In terms of quotas alone, Australia obviously does not have an advantage. For example, before 1986, the quotas Japan received (orange in the table below) were basically more than 60%, while Australia (blue in the table below) only accounted for About 30%.
The fishing history of Japan (orange) and Australia (blue)
A dramatic scene occurred in 2006, when the Australian government submitted an investigation report: There is evidence that Japan’s fishing volume in the past 20 years has exceeded 100,000 tons, which has brought great pressure on the population resources of Mcdonald's tuna. Australia uses this as a reason to believe that Japan's current quota is unreasonable.
After a vote by other member countries, Japan's quota was eventually cut in half as a penalty for overfishing. Since then, Australia has ranked first in the world in terms of quotas, accounting for about 40% of the total global quotas.
Quotas of major fishing countries in recent years
Some people may ask, why does Australia have such a special liking for Mcdonald's tuna? What's the plan behind this?
In fact, in the early 1990s, McFarland's tuna was just a cheap seafood to Australia, with little economic value and was often processed into various worthless cans. Due to low profits and strict fishery regulations, Australia's Mcdonald's tuna industry is almost bankrupt.
Tuna Canning Processing Factory
In 2006, the Australian government ushered in a fortune "business opportunity": the quota system at that time greatly restricted Japan's fishing volume, resulting in a shortage of tuna in the Japanese market, and the gap could only be filled through large-scale imports. . The Australian government saw the right opportunity and exported all tuna to Japan, which can earn a net profit of more than 1,000 US dollars per ton (if it is processed into cans, it can only earn up to 600 US dollars).
The farming of Mcdonald's tuna: "a hot potato"
Thanks to the existence of supermarkets in Japan, Australia has found the correct "way" to open McFly's tuna. In order to further increase the value of commodities and maximize benefits, the Australian government has also initiated artificial breeding and customized a large number of large-scale breeding cages in Port Lincoln, South Australia.
At present, Australia is the only country in the world that farms Mcdonald's tuna. Since 2005, the annual production capacity has been about 7,000 to 10,000 tons. It should be pointed out that unlike other ordinary seawater fish, the cost of breeding Mcdonald's tuna is very high and difficult to raise. It is even more difficult to break through artificial breeding.
The newly hatched larvae of Mcdonald's tuna
Mcdonald's tuna is a typical high-oxygen-consuming fish. Its core body temperature is about 10℃ higher than that of the surrounding environment. It has a strong metabolism and needs to swim constantly to obtain what the body needs. oxygen. This characteristic makes Mcdonald's tuna consume a lot of energy. To grow 1kg fish meat, it needs to consume at least 15kg fresh bait fish.
Judging from past experience, it takes at least 1.5 to 2 tons of squid and mackerel to raise a 100-kilogram tuna, which is extremely costly. After 8 months of breeding, the average weight of tuna can generally reach 30 to 40 kilograms; if the cycle is doubled (about 18 months), after removing costs, Australian fisheries can earn more.
Large offshore culture cage
A large cage can breed 2,000 Mcdonald's tuna, with a total value of about 2 million US dollars. The average value of one fish is 1,000 US dollars (the larger the size, the more valuable). It is precisely because of their huge value that Australian aquatic companies have specially equipped special armed guards to guard these breeding cages. After the breeding is completed, these tuna will be shipped to Japan as soon as possible.
Facts have proved that betting on Macdonald's tuna regardless of cost is the right decision - because no matter how much bait and labor costs are invested, these tuna can always make investors regain their confidence in the Japanese market.
Australia's ambitions go far beyond this.
In the early stages of the breeding program, Australia relied heavily on catching wild seedlings, which were then transferred to large cages to fatten and grow. Australia’s ambitions go far beyond that, and artificial breeding technology may become the key to victory in the next track.
When it comes to the fully artificial breeding of bluefin tuna , no country can match Japan, both in terms of technical strength and breeding output. So, will Australia's McFarland follow the same path? From the perspective of resource conditions and technical strength, it is really possible for these two fishes to "reach the same destination" by different routes.
Northwestern Australia is the natural spawning ground of Mcdonald's tuna.
First of all, Australia has an unparalleled geographical advantage - in the northwest waters of Australia, there is a natural spawning ground of Mcdonald's tuna. The scale is considerable, and broodstock is harvested. The conditions can be said to be unique.
Secondly, Australia has initially mastered the method of artificial reproduction (commercial production has not yet been achieved). In 2007, Australian researchers successfully induced 20 adult tuna to spawn by injecting oxytocin, thus obtaining the world's first artificially bred fertilized tuna eggs. In 2009, this technology was selected as the "World's Best Invention" by Time magazine.
Artificially hatched tuna seedlings
Around 2010, an Australian research team launched international cooperation with Kinki University in Japan, and the latter was the technical team that spent 32 years breaking through the fully artificial breeding of bluefin tuna. This cooperation is also expected Helping Australia achieve commercial production of Mcdonald's tuna. As for whether Australia can "bet successfully" again, we might as well wait and see.
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