Greenpeace targets Japanese restaurant chain in London

Monday, February 14, 2011, 23:00 (GMT + 9)

Conservation group Greenpeace has been targeting restaurant chain Nobu for serving the endangered species bluefin tuna as sushi to its customers for GBP 260 (EUR 307.1). The organization encouraged activists to confront chef Nobu Matsuhisa during his stay in London

“Nobu have no excuse. They have known this is unacceptable for years,” said Greenpeace UK.




“They claim to be leaders in their sector yet they serve up a species that is internationally recognized as endangered, and the only small concession to these concerns is an asterisked qualification on their London menus (it doesn’t happen in any of their other establishments),” the group continued.

Greenpeace noted that the restaurant has at the same time placed a disclaimer in its menus regarding the status of bluefin as a threatened species.

“At the bottom of the menu it says: Bluefin tuna is an environmentally threatened species. Please ask your server for an alternative,” Greenpeace noted.

The green group suggested that customers should instead “ask [their] server why the **** [the restaurant is] still serving it!”
Limited edition sushi: Greenpeace believe that bluefin sushi will only be available for a limited period as bluefin will soon be extinct. (Photo: Ultimate Holding Company/Greenpeace)

Greenpeace pointed out that not only does Nobu lack a sustainability policy about sourcing seafood, but also that, as last month a bluefin tuna sold for GBP 250,000 (EUR 295,254), the chain is profiting big from the sale of rare seafood.

Selling the endangered species in its restaurants encourages its overfishing, activists believe.

“In a world where politicians and profiteers have repeatedly stopped any effective protection of bluefin, now more than ever it falls upon retailers and restaurateurs to be responsible,” Greenpeace urged.

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Nobu, the group said, has consequently fallen behind most UK supermarkets and even sandwich retailers like Pret A Manger.

Japanese celebrity chef and restaurateur Matsuhisa is known for fusing traditional Japanese cuisine with Peruvian and Argentine ingredients. He and his family run Nobu restaurants across the US, including in Beverly Hills, Aspen, Miami Beach, and New York, and throughout the globe in cities such as Milan, Moscow, Dubai, Hong Kong, Mexico City, and Melbourne.

Nobu is known to be partnered with restaurateur Drew Nieporent and actor Robert De Niro for the purpose of opening his New York locale.