A Man vs. Nature tale turned into a Man vs. Media frenzy today after reality TV star Brody Jenner posted a gruesome photo of a bloody fish caught for his delicious consumption to Instagram .
With the hashtags #successfulmission, #bloodydecks and #40poundbluefin, Jenner posted a photo of a dead bluefin tuna surrounded by a pool of its own blood on the image sharing site. Though Jenner was apparently on a mission to catch the whopper of a fish, the photo has stirred controversy.
The Huffington Post exhaustively documented the bluefin tuna’s potential status as an endangered animal, citing a report from the Pew Environment Group’s Amanda Nickson. “At least 90% of the [bluefin tuna] being caught have not yet reached reproductive age, which obviously undermines their ability to reproduce, she said.
But Jenner’s taste for the possibly-endangered fish is too strong to ignore. He posted a similar photo of a dead bluefin last summer, writing: “Bluefin sashimi?”
Though several celebrities including Adrian Grenier have come out swinging in defense of the bluefin tuna, Jenner is not sympathetic to their plight. He responded to the controversy from his latest photo by saying that his 40-pound bluefin has a zero-sum chance of escaping his skillet.
“As somebody who eats fish on a regular basis, I prefer to catch my own meal in a legal and responsible manner to better appreciate the process of the fish getting to the plate,” he said.
“I believe that you should be able to catch/kill/process whatever you eat to remind yourself of what you’re doing. I also prefer to avoid buying tuna at market because the commercial tuna fishing fleet often catch other species of fish and marine mammals in there nets in the process. With that said… Stoked on these 2 bluefin tuna!!! Good trip.”
You can check out Brody Jenner’s bloody bluefin tuna photo below: