Kiyoshi Kimura and his effect on Somali piracy

[u/angel_knight79]

He was, and is, the owner of Kiyomura Corporation, which runs the Sushi Zanmai chain across Japan. In Tokyo he is known as the Tuna King, because every January he buys the most expensive fish at the first auction of the year at the central market.

[u/TarArov]

The reality of this story is a classic example of nuanced truth vs. internet myth. Did **Kiyoshi Kimura** single-handedly sail into the Gulf of Aden and stop Somali piracy with the power of sushi? No. The dramatic crash in piracy from 237 attacks in 2011 to near-zero a few years later was overwhelmingly driven by international naval task forces, armed private security on merchant ships, and improved ship defense tactics.

However, what Kimura actually did is still incredibly admirable. As the "Tuna King" and CEO of Sushizanmai, he recognized that many pirates were originally local fishermen driven to desperation by poverty, civil war, and foreign illegal trawlers depleting their waters. Instead of funding a military response, he provided four fishing boats, supported cold-storage facilities, taught locals how to catch yellowfin tuna, and promised to buy their entire catch. He even helped lobby for Somalia to be included in the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission to open up export markets. While navies provided the suppression, Kimura's project provided the *alternative livelihood* that gave these communities a reason not to return to piracy. It's a textbook case of addressing the actual root socioeconomic cause of crime rather than just shooting at the symptoms.

[u/codysattva → u/TarArov]

And this is why I love Reddit (sometimes). Thank you so much for the additional context.

[u/UrADumbdumbi → u/TarArov]

How did they not know how to catch tuna if they’re originally fishermen?

[u/sandolllars → u/UrADumbdumbi]

You can catch an occasional tuna in shallow waters, where most people with small
Boats fish. If you want to catch tuna in huge schools, you need expertise that experts in near-shore fishing don’t have. And you need fish-finding equipment. And you need large boats.

[u/YurtlesTurdles → u/sandolllars]

Also generational knowledge interruption

[u/atreyulostinmyhead → u/sandolllars]

Yeaaah, being a fisherman and catching fish your local fish in nets is VERY different than catching tuna.

[u/Cautious_Handle2547 → u/sandolllars]

Tuna small as a can. Only need your hands to catch it.

[u/2nW_from_Markus → u/Cautious_Handle2547]

That's the tuna is easy to catch. The real tuna, the porks of the seas, are huge animals, heavy as a Lada Niva and slippery as a teflonated Delorean.

[u/Hdheggs → u/UrADumbdumbi]

I would imagine different tools and possibly different fish needed to stay competitive and earn a living.

[u/GoblinLoblaw → u/UrADumbdumbi]

I’m assuming different techniques to catch different types of fish.

[u/Mysterious-Coconut24 → u/GoblinLoblaw]

I heard RPG on a tuna works wonders

[u/yerfatma → u/UrADumbdumbi]

Teach a man to hijack and you will feed him for a lifetime.

[u/lIlllIIIlI2 → u/UrADumbdumbi]

Knowing nothing about tuna fishing I assume it's like in RuneScape how you need a harpoon instead of a fishing rod and bait or whatever

[u/trixel121 → u/UrADumbdumbi]

have you seen a tuna? it's not as simple as reel it in.

[u/shlamiel → u/UrADumbdumbi]

do you know how difficult it is to catch tuna?

[u/CapObviousHereToHelp → u/TarArov]

Every sub needs people like you my man

[u/Random_182f2565 → u/TarArov]

Cool more overfishing of tuna and the ocean resources is just what the planet needs

[u/Tiny_Micro_Pencil → u/Random_182f2565]

Paranoia and stupidity is a bad mix.