Something fishy in Nara

Over the last few months CSMB has received many distressing reports of an underground ring of highly illegal restaurants throughout Japan specializing in dishes made with endangered marine animals. The most nortorious in the ring is a small izakaya in Nara called Shirakayo. Known simply as “Shi” by its regular patrons, this small izakaya actively fishes and serves up 34 out of the 40 endangered marine species protected under the Kyoto Marine Conservation Act of 1952 on a daily basis.

Like all illegals, Shirakayo's location moves regularly to avoid detection by authorities; however, many experts in this area say this tactic is more show than actual function. Although the practice of serving endangered species has been condemned by the national government, the Japanese Marine Resources Bureau has yet to win a case against perpetrators against the Act and a small constellation of underground restaurants flourish throughout Japan.


Nearly 90% of the endangered marine life trade is supported by the top 2% of income earners in Japan. Prominent business leaders, media moguls and even politicians are suspected to be in this group. “A law is only the law when it is enforced at all levels of the government,” sighs Dr. Takashi Hanagawa, President of the Japanese Wildlife Bureau, “We are working with half a blindfold and one hand tied behind our backs.” It is suspected that many law officials choose to turn a blind eye when it comes to endangered species consumption cases because they fear retribution from the people being put on trial. “If your paycheck is signed by the person that is on trial and it’s bonus season, would you really care that this guy ate some fish?” asks Dr. Hanagawa.

Last week, after months of careful networking and research, CSMB’s team of marine activists gained entrance into Shira. “It was awful. They had huge tanks full of exotic fish from which clientele would pick their dinners,” reports Jan McGinny. CSMB immediately notified local authorities of this illegal izakaya’s location; however, local authorities were slow to react and never arrived. CSMB returned early the next day, to find that someone had tipped off Nara and the sly izakaya had switched locations once again. “They obviously moved out in a hurry because there was quite a bit of broken glass,” says McGinnny, “The worst part though was when we found the bodies of a few Chaetobranchopsis orbiculari who must have splashed out of the tanks just lying there, looking up at us.”

CSMB activists in Japan will continue to fight these restaurants. If you are interested in joining the conservation effort please contact us at info@csmb.com.