Study Buddy (Challenger): How to enjoy sustainable bluefin tuna and why we should eat more from the Mediterranean Sea
- Hong Kong-based Spanish food importer explains how population has grown after rise of sushi in the 80s and 90s and nearly going extinct
- This page is for students who want to take their reading comprehension to the next level with difficult vocabulary and questions to test their inference skills
Hong Kong-based Spanish food importer Borja Sanchez poses with a sustainable bluefin tuna. Photo: Los IbericosContent provided by British Council
Read the following text, and answer questions 1-9 below:
[1] Can we still enjoy bluefin tuna sustainably and in good conscience? Absolutely, according to Hong Kong-based Spanish food importer Borja Sanchez. In fact, we should try to eat more of it from the Mediterranean Sea to save other fish stocks, he says.
[2] A recent summary report by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), a body that regulates fishing of the animal, noted “positive signs” for Atlantic bluefin tuna. It said catch-size limits and catch reductions had contributed to “a rapid increase in the abundance of the stock” of the fish, while admitting that illegal fishing still exists. Furthermore, the report’s outlook projected “increases for the next two years” in the spawning of Atlantic bluefin tuna.
[3] Sanchez says innovative tuna “ranchers”, including his supplier, Balfego, have helped Atlantic bluefin tuna numbers grow. The company uses a farming method that involves rounding up mature bluefins in large nets while letting younger tuna slip back out. The stock are then maintained in pens in the open ocean, for harvest only on demand.
[4] Unlike commercially raised salmon, which start from eggs and are grown for mass production, bluefin tuna are massive – at least two metres long and more than 200kg when mature. Balfego only slaughters tuna that are at least 10 years old. They mature at four, so each fish has at least six years of reproductivity. “Also, the Atlantic bluefins that swim back to the Mediterranean each spring are larger than their Pacific cousins,” Sanchez says.
[5] Demand for bluefin tuna in the 1980s and 90s led to a decline in global stocks. As the appetite for sushi exploded from New York to Tokyo, Sanchez says the Japanese began looking into European tuna. As a result, many a Spanish fisherman’s processing skills increased. Balfego might involve generations of Spanish fishermen, but the company has adopted many of its fish handling techniques from the Japanese.
[6] For example, its tuna are killed using the ikejime method, with a spike inserted into the hindbrain and a wire down the spine. It is not only considered the most humane method, but it also prevents stress-related lactic acid from building up and affecting the meat.
[7] Once on the brink of extinction, the Atlantic bluefin tuna has been removed from various conservation groups’ endangered species lists. For 2023, Spain’s fishing quota for bluefin tuna allowed by the European Union increased 10 per cent to 6,800 tonnes. Sanchez says the EU’s unified strategy, regulatory oversight and enforcement helped nurture the tuna market back to health.
[8] Sanchez says that not only is the Atlantic bluefin no longer endangered, but diners should be encouraged to eat more of it to protect the stock of other fish that are its prey. “The bluefin has very few predators,” Sanchez says. “Only killer whales and us ... If we don’t put the tuna in check, there will be no herring, no mackerel and no sardine.”
Source: South China Morning Post, October 14
Questions
1. The first sentence in paragraph 1 …
A. explores the different fish species in the Mediterranean Sea.
B. summaries a food importer’s opinion about bluefin tuna.
C. talks about the benefits of eating seafood.
D. addresses a common concern about a particular fish species.
2. What reasons are given in paragraph 2 for the increase in the Atlantic bluefin tuna population?
3. Find a phrase in paragraph 3 that means “at any time that someone needs something”.
4. What does Balfego do to prevent overfishing of bluefin tuna according to paragraph 4, and why? (2 marks)
5. Which of the following best describes the relationship between the popularity of sushi and global stocks of bluefin tuna in paragraph 5?
A. directly proportional
B. inversely related
C. totally independent
D. none of the above
6. According to paragraph 6, what advantages does the ikejime method have over other ways of killing bluefin tuna?
7. The purpose of paragraph 7 is to show …
A. the Atlantic bluefin tuna population has yet to recover to the point where it is no longer considered endangered.
B. the EU needs to do more to conserve global bluefin tuna stocks.
C. the Atlantic bluefin tuna population is now large enough to support sustainable fishing.
D. how an increase in Spain’s fishing quota could negatively affect bluefin tuna stock.
8. In paragraph 8, is Sanchez more likely to eat Atlantic bluefin or mackerel, and why?
9. Based on the article, decide whether the following statements are True, False or the information is Not Given. Fill in ONE circle only for each statement. (4 marks)
(i) The ikejime method is becoming increasingly popular outside of Japan, as more people become aware of its benefits.
(ii) A recent report by ICCAT found that Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks will increase only if illegal fishing is no longer as widespread as it once was.
(iii) Balfego uses a farming method that selects bluefin tuna based on their gender.
(iv) The demand for sushi worldwide has resulted in Spanish fisherman improving their skills at processing tuna.
Answers
1. D
2. catch-size limits and catch reductions
3. on demand
4. The company only slaughters tuna that are at least 10 years old so that each fish has at least six years of reproductivity.
5. B
6. It is not only considered the most humane method, but it also prevents stress-related lactic acid from building up and affecting the meat.
7. C
8. Atlantic bluefin, because he believes that eating more bluefin will help to protect the stocks of other fish that are its prey. (accept other similar answers)
9. (i) NG; (ii) F; (iii) F; (iv) T