'A Different Reason' 

Editor:

I read that some Sushi Spot customers are threatening to boycott the business due to its new tipping policy ("Sushi Spot's Tipping Point," Feb. 8). I'm on the fence about the policy, but I propose boycotting Sushi Spot for a different reason: its aquaria. Aside from the fact that being an aquarium fish in a sushi restaurant must be some form of purgatory, the whole practice of keeping decorative fish tanks deserves scrutiny.

Broadly speaking, the ethics of using live animals for decoration or entertainment are questionable. More specifically, about 95 percent of the saltwater fish (which Sushi Spot's are) sold in pet shops are taken from the wild, mostly the South Pacific, often by squirting poisons such as cyanide into coral reefs, stunning the fish so that they drift out of the crevices. Many of the affected fish go into spasm; it is estimated that half of them die on the spot and that 40 percent of the remainder die in transit. That means that for every saltwater fish sold, two die. (The numbers are similar for most "pets" taken from the wild.) A few marine fish can be bred in captivity, though some breeders inject fluorescent dye into them to enhance their coloration.

Coral reefs are already under assault from warming ocean temperatures, pollution and crown-of-thorn starfish population explosions; they certainly don't need the added insult of being raped of their fish for the aquarium trade.

I reached out to Mr. Stark, Sushi Spot's owner, to ask him where his aquarium fish came from, but, perhaps not surprisingly, he did not respond, which is why I'm taking this more public approach. If you agree with me, I encourage you to express your opinion either by taking your business elsewhere or by dropping off a written comment at the restaurant.

Ken Burton, McKinleyville