JD.com, China\u2019s second largest e-commerce platform, recently found itself making a swift and humiliating climbdown when a seafood product launch went spectacularly wrong, threatening its environmentally responsible image.<\/p>\n
The e-commerce site\u2019s CEO Liu Qiangdong signed a strategic partnership<\/a> with the environmental campaign organisation World Wildlife Fund for Nature\u00a0(WWF) China, pledging to promote \u201csustainable living\u201d worldwide. The event took place on World Ocean\u2019s Day.<\/p>\n Next morning, on June 9, Liu unveiled plans for JD.com to sell southern bluefin tuna that was\u00a0sourced from Australia, priced at 300-800 yuan (US$44-118) per 100 grammes, depending on the cut. 800 yuan is roughly a week\u2019s wage<\/a> for many restaurant workers.<\/p>\n Bluefin is the rarest, most expensive, and most endangered among tuna species. The three bluefin subspecies \u2013 Pacific, Atlantic and Southern \u2013 are all at risk, classed as vulnerable<\/a>, endangered<\/a> and critically endangered<\/a> respectively by the International Union for Conservation of Nature<\/a> (IUCN), though some experts think Atlantic bluefin populations may be recovering<\/a>.<\/p>\n JD.com\u2019s plans to market bluefin to China\u2019s fine diners\u00a0were quickly spotted by a sharp-eyed volunteer at China Biodiversity Conservation and Green Development Foundation (CBCDGF), an environmental NGO. To its credit, JD.com quickly agreed, banning sale of the fish on its platform, emphasising<\/a> that it was selling farmed tuna, rather than wild-caught. The ban was a sign of its willingness to hold itself to a higher standard, it said.<\/p>\n Environmentalists have generally viewed the debacle as part of the company\u2019s learning curve. Greenpeace East Asia senior campaigner Pan Wenjing said JD.com had not understood or fully prepared for the commitment to \u201cpromote sustainable global supply chains and sustainable consumption.\u201d JD.com\u2019s dive for cover has caused ripples in the e-commerce sector. Taobao, China\u2019s largest e-commerce site, and the online food giant Yhd.com, have both withdrawn bluefin tuna from sale.<\/p>\n Nonetheless, a number of small venders on the giant Taobao platform are offering \u201cblack tuna,\u201d another name for bluefin.<\/p>\n Overall sales of bluefin tuna are rising in China in line with growing demand for luxury seafood. This\u00a0raises the possibility that bluefin could fill the market gap created by the ban\u00a0on shark fin soup.<\/p>\n There is no sign yet though that the controversy and high-profile bans on online sales are dampening sales through other channels.<\/p>\n The growing spending power of China\u2019s middle class has led to a shift in food tastes, with expensive imported foods and foreign cuisines\u00a0increasingly popular. Rising interest in Japanese food has also created enthusiasm for bluefin tuna sashimi.<\/p>\n In 2015, high-end Japanese restaurants in China started holding \u201cfirst bluefin tuna cutting ceremonies,\u201d publicity stunts modelled on ceremonies at Tokyo\u2019s famous Tsukiji fish market and elsewhere in Japan.<\/p>\n E-commerce platforms have also sought to ramp up sales of imported luxury foods. Taobao CEO Jack Ma led the way, splashing 38,888 yuan<\/a> (US$5,700) on the high-profile purchase of a 68 kilogramme (kg) bluefin tuna in November 2015. The lavish, much photographed feast was the first time many Chinese consumers had heard of bluefin tuna.<\/p>\n Overall consumption remains low though. Japanese restaurants are a niche market in China. Bluefin tuna is expensive, eaten mostly by the wealthy in coastal cities with strong seafood cuisine traditions, or in China\u2019s major inland cities.<\/p>\n Chinese consumers ate up to 220 tonnes of bluefin tuna in 2016 although China\u2019s customs data shows imports rose 37% that year.<\/p>\n Japan accounts for 80% of the global bluefin catch. Chinese fleets are limited to hunting Atlantic bluefin under catch quota rules, so importers must buy Pacific and Southern bluefin from other fleets. In 2016, imports hit 158 tonnes, topped up by China\u2019s Atlantic bluefin quota of 53.9 tonnes<\/a> \u2013 or less than 1% of the 2016 catch of Atlantic bluefin.<\/p>\n The sales ban by e-retailers has not ended controversy over commercial farming of endangered wild species. Supporters say with protection measures in place moderate consumption is fine. Opponents argue that consumption risks stimulating demand, undercutting conservation measures.<\/p>\n Fan Xubing, founder of food website newsavour.com, told chinadialogue<\/em>\u00a0that total opposition to eating bluefin tuna was unrealistic: \u201cYou should steer people towards eating farmed fish, while better monitoring endangered populations.\u201d He sees a choice between consumption and conservation as overly simplistic.<\/p>\n JD.com planned to import farmed fish. While farmed supplies remain too small to replace wild fish, Fan believes expanding bluefin farming could reduce pressure on wild populations. He compares it how salmon farming developed \u201cto meet consumer demand after overfishing.\u201d<\/p>\n However, conservationists maintain that farming will not stop overfishing\u00a0of other species because farmed bluefin are\u00a0fed young\u00a0wild-caught fish. A bluefin tuna\u00a0needs\u00a015kg\u00a0of fodder to gain 1kg in weight.<\/p>\n China\u2019s huge demand for prestige foods like shark fin and sea cucumber has conservationists worried that overfishing of bluefin tuna will worsen. They are concerned that\u00a0bluefin will\u00a0fill a\u00a0gap in the market left by successful campaigns against eating shark fin.<\/p>\nRed faces<\/h2>\n
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\nCBCGDF and three other local NGOs promptly contacted WWF, lobbying JD.com through WWF to remove bluefin tuna from sale.<\/p>\nLearning curve<\/h2>\n
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\nHuang\u00a0Shuya, who monitored the case for CBCGDF, praised JD.com\u2019s quick response, while saying its hasty retreat suggested it had not anticipated such a large public reaction.<\/p>\nTrendsetter<\/h2>\n
Fashionable fish<\/h2>\n
Japan is the main consumer<\/h2>\n
Farm it or ban it?<\/h2>\n
Replacement for shark fin?<\/h2>\n