ISARIBI NO.76

ISSN1346-2512

Japan
Fisheries
Association

ISARIBI

漁火
Fishing Fire

NO.76, JAN. 2013
Sankaido Bldg.,
9-13 Akasaka 1, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 107-0052
tel: 81-3-3585-6683
http//www.suisankai.or.jp

Views and Opinions of Japan’s Fisheries Industry

ICFA

Japan participates actively in issues on the ICFA agenda
The International Coalition of Fisheries Associations (ICFA) met on 10-11 October 2012 in Rome, Italy, to identify
issues of common interest and develop advocacy strategies to address these opportunities. ICFA members also met
informally with U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) representatives. Toshiro Shirasu, president of the Japan
Fisheries Association, led the Japanese delegation. Below is a summary of the Japanese discussions on key agenda
issues.
1. MPAs
As moves to expand Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
are becoming active throughout the world, ICFA
confirmed its basic position on Marine Protected Areas(MPAs) that should be based on scientific grounds andshould not impair the sustainability of fisheries anddiscussed future actions it should take in this regard.
Shirasu expressed his views as follows.
(1) It is essential to utilize fisheries resources
sustainably in order to enable mankind to continue
seafood consumption in the years ahead. There are,however, a number of environmental movements that
could obstruct the sustainable utilization of fisheries
resources. One such movement is the call for the
expansion of MPAs.
(2) We understand that the establishment of MPAs
must be based on scientific grounds taking into accountthe characteristics of the marine ecosystem and target
species.
(3) It is particularly inappropriate to interpret MPAs as
identical to no-fishing zones. The expansion of MPAs
which severely obstructs existing fishing activities only
for the reason of environmental conservation should be
opposed.
(4) The FAO has developed its guidelines on MPAs
taking the sustainability of fisheries into consideration.
The fisheries industry should support the FAO-led
management of MPAs in view of the fact that someconservation groups are proposing criteria that give agreater priority to the protection of the ecosystem than
to the fisheries.
2. Actual situation in Japan on the restorationof the March 2011 tsunami and earthquake
affected areas and the negative rootless rumors
regarding the impact of the resulting nuclear
power plant accident
Shirasu reported on the situation surrounding the

Shirasu (center, left side) explains Japan's position at ICFA meeting

above issues and requested the members for continued
cooperation as follows.
(1) Actual situation on the restoration of affected areasa. Although a budget was allocated for the restoration ofareas affected by the disaster, the administrative systemsof the local autonomies and fisheries organizations
have been seriously disrupted. Actual restoration andrehabilitation have not been advancing as smoothly as
expected because corporations and enterprises werealready burdened with past loans and have been unable tobear additional costs.
b. The land where fishing ports were located subsided
by nearly one meter as a result of the disaster. But fish
landings were rendered possible after those locations wereleveled up, although provisionally. The expectation for the
rehabilitation of fishing vessels (mostly small-type vessels)
has been realized for the most part. The rehabilitationof processing facilities is in delay. Landings at the fishingports have been delayed due to slow progress in the
rehabilitation of refrigerating and chilling facilities. To date,fish landings have recovered to about 70% of their level in2010.

ISARIBI: First published by the Japan Fisheries Association in October 1992.
JFA President: Toshiro Shirasu; Editor: Masashi Nishimura

ISARIBI NO.76

JAN. 2013

c. Further assistance is necessary in order to restore theaffected industry.
(2) Negative rootless rumors regarding the impact of thenuclear power plant accident
a. Fishermen have been voluntarily refraining fromfishing in the sea area 100 kilometers from the
Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.
b. Thoroughgoing measures have been taken throughmonitoring surveys to not market fish having radioactive
cesium exceeding the allowable level of 100 Becquerels,
which is the most conservative limit in the world.
c. In t h e a re a o ff F u k u s h i m a , f i s h i n g h a s b e e nsuspended on a voluntary basis, and only monitoring
surveys have been conducted.
d. However, despi te the absence of radioactive
substances, fish from Fukushima are not selling. Fishprices have been falling drastically for the sole reason
that they are from Fukushima.
e. Regarding exports of seafood from Japan, there havebeen instances where exports did not advance smoothly
even for those products caught in the areas having
nothing to do with the radioactive contamination.
f. As reported in ISARIBI No. 74, Shirasu requested
European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs andFisheries Maria Damanaki, when she visited Japanin July, that the European Union take positive steps
toward the resumption of seafood imports from Japan.
Damanaki gave him assurance that the EU would takesteps to alleviate its import regulations on Japanese
seafood in the days ahead.
Shirasu reiterated his request to the ICFA membersthat no groundless restrictive measures against importsof Japanese seafood be taken in their countries.
In the exchange of views with FAO officials, Shirasu
explained to Arni M. Mathiesen, Assistant DirectorGeneral of the Fisheries and Aquaculture Department,

the latest situation on the restoration from the disaster,
expressing his gratitude for the cooperation of the FAO,
and requesting continued cooperation.
3. Other issues
Some E.U. members of ICFA expressed their strong
concern over the reinforcement of regulations on trawlingin the E.U. in accordance with the new E.U. fisheries
policy. Participants exchanged views on this issue fromthe standpoint of the fisheries industry. It was agreed
that continued attention to this issue would be necessary
so that sustainable fisheries may not be affected by suchmoves.
Discussion also took place centering on the proposals
for the inclusion of certain marine species in the
Appendices of the Convention on International Trade inEndangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) at
its 16th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (CoP16).
Regarding the prospect that proposals may be tabled tomake the conditions for secret ballot voting more strict,Japan called on ICFA members to maintain the current
voting system based on the recognition that the secretballot is an indispensable means to enable developing
countries to take part in voting based on their sovereign
rights and without being intimidated and unfairly
pressured by nongovernmental groups.
Concern regarding the over fishing capacity of large
scale tuna purse-seine fishing vessels was shared by themembers.
*What is ICFA?
ICFA is an international nongovernmental organizationcommitted to the sustainable use of the world's ocean
resources, adhering to the UN FAO's Code of Conduct
for Responsible Fisheries. ICFA members represent thefishing and seafood sectors and include the national
associations from major fishing nations of the world.

Marine Forests

Marine Forests for the Ocean as a New Frontier
Let's recover the health of the sea

TYoshiaki Matsuda, Professor Emeritus of Kagoshima University

he ocean was regarded as a new frontier inthe past, such as after the third UN Conference
on the Law of the Sea in the 1970s and the1980s. However, the ocean’s full utilization was not
met. This is because management has been based ona first come, first served principle which is effective
when participants are small in number as comparedwith the resources, although individual quotas (IQs)
and individual transferable quotas (ITQs) havebeen practiced in part. In agriculture, productivity
has tremendously increased in supplying foods toexpanded populations by changing major production
methods from hunting to cultured agriculture. This
type of change is also desired in fisheries. With limited

land based resources and over 7 billion people, this is nota time to fight each other. Rather, we must wisely utilize
the oceans.
Marine Forest Promotion: What should we learn
from China?
For the oceans as a new frontier, attention must be paid
to Chinese seaweed culture. China increased its fisheries
production since the late 1970s and produced more than
20 million metric tons (mt hereafter) per year by theyear 2000. Most came from the East China Sea and the
Yellow Sea. Regardless of governmental policy to limit
production to prevent over fishing after 2000, production
remains very high and China has continued to export a
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JAN. 2013

large amount of fish to Japan. Fisheries production in
the same area used to be less than 3 million mt per
year before the 1960s when Japan dominated fisheries
in the area.
In China, kelp imported from Japan from the 1930
has been cultured from Dalian to Fuzhou stretching
1,300 km from north to south. Production of seaweeds,
kelp and Undaria sp. has also increased from less than
2 million mt to 12 million mt from the 1970s to the year
2000. We found Chinese fisheries production is closely
correlated with this seaweed culture production (Figure1). Based on this finding, we have tried to test theeffect of seaweed culture on coastal fisheries productionin Japan. This was the beginning of the marine forest
promotion movement in the 1990s.
The Marine Forest Promotion Society
In 2002, the Marine Forest Promotion Society (the“Society” hereafter) was established as a non-profit
organization (NPO) to increase kelp culture along
Japan’s coast by going between consumers and seedproducers and to test FeSO4 fertilizers to revitalize
seaweed beds. These activities are to promote
communications with fishermen and local people
followed by discussions about fisheries management,c o l l a b o ra t i o n w i t h o t h e r s f o r m u t u a l b e n e f i t s ,contributions to the local communities and local
development. The Society also sponsors events suchas symposiums, kelp summits, seaweed herbariumclasses, coastal seaweed observations, tidelandobservations, tours for advanced society members andexhibitions, emphasizing communications between
fishing communities and urban areas. In 2011, thesociety supplied 18,000 m of kelp seaweed strains to 40
places in 16 prefectures and 7 tons of FeSO4 fertilizers
to Akita and Nagasaki prefectures. Models of theactivities are Iki, Uwajima and Oga.
Model cases: Iki, Uwajima and Oga
In I k i -To b u F i s h e r i e s C o o p e ra t i ve , N a g a s a k i
Prefecture, all seaweeds in the bay were destroyed bywater pollution after the break of a soil pollution fence
at the river mouth in 1997. However, these seaweeds
were recovered by 2007 through the work of 60 Ama
people (women divers). They were revived by kelp
culture started in 2002. In Uwajima, Ehime Prefecture,
the Uwajima branch of the Society was established,consisting of fishermen, citizens, schools and the
Uwajima municipal office in 2003, and received the AITV Environmental Prize in 2006 and a subsidy for the
Ehime Prefecture Marine Forest Promotion Project 20072008.
In Oga, Akita
Prefecture, theM a r i n e Fo r e s t
Promotion
Society in Oga
was establishedin 2011 with Oga
C i t y ’s s u p p o r t
and received
a s u b s i d y
Picture 1: Kelp in Oga, Akita

Picture 2: New processing plant under construction in Ocober 2012

from the Akita Prefecture Model Project for New Public
Spending 2011-2012 of US$125,000. The Society FeSO4
fertilizer tests in 2011, using 5 tons of the fertilizers inmore than 5 coastal areas. The Akita Prefecture Fisheries
Promotion Center investigated the results of the tests andheld discussion for the future. Regarding kelp culture,
the facilities were lost by the sudden occurrence of low
pressure on April 4, 2012, though seeds were cultured
last November and grown well before the accident (Picture1). As a result, they had to repeat the kelp culture
again in 2012 and ordered 4 times the amount of seeds
as the last order. Since the objective of this projectis to establish an enterprise that will sustain seaweed
culture and develop the local economy, it supported one
fisherman to develop a processing plant to utilize cultured
seaweeds and others for the purpose of developing
the local economy with a governmental program forindustrialization of the primary industry, including
processing and marketing (Picture 2). The program is also
looking for other potentials.
New development
The Fisheries Agency of Japan has proposed a counter-

Figure 1. Sources: FAO statistics online and Japan's Fisheries White Papers

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ISARIBI NO.76
measure for materializing fisheries multi-functions of 3
billion yen in the national budget for the year of 2013.
This is the first time the government indicated that
seaweed beds conservation as a public works project
includes man-made kelp forest production for fisheries
resource enhancement.
The Society’s slogans are 1) Let’s recover the health ofseas, forests and mountains; 2) Let’s extend the marine
forest promotion movement nationwide and worldwide,and 3) Seaweeds are medical doctors to cure the earthand people. Why don’t you join us.
Contact: matsuday2006@yahoo.co.jp

TopicsFiji envoy asks for JFA cooperationin developing fisheriesM

r. Ratu Isikeli Mataitaga, ambassador to Japanfor the Republic of Fiji, visited the Japan
Fisheries Association office on Sept. 25, 2012, torequest Japan’s cooperation in the tuna business.
In a meeting with JFA President Toshiro Shirasu, theambassador stated that Fiji, an island nation with a vast
exclusive economic zone (EEZ), sees a high potential
in fisheries because of its rich marine resources. Fijiis transporting fresh ice-packed tuna to Japan, but
the scale of business is still small compared with its
productive power. For this reason, the country is now
looking for Japanese partners with the aim to build tunaprocessing facilities and increase exports, Mr. Mataitaga
said.
Shirasu responded that Japan has a close relationshipwith South Pacific island countries, noting someJapanese fisheries companies are investing in theregion. It is the hope of the Japanese fisheries industry
to maintain a friendly tie with South Pacific countries.
Having said that, Shirasu advised the Fijian envoy
to have consultations with the overseas fisheries
cooperation division of the Fisheries Agency of
the Japanese government, the Overseas Fisheries
Cooperation Foundation (OFCF) and the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO) with regard to thepromotion of its fisheries.
He also suggested that Fijian fishing companies
participate in the Tokyo International Seafood andTechnology Expo, in which a number of foreigncompanies display their products.

Qatar-funded fisheries processing
facility launched in tsunami-hit townA

new multi-functional fisheries processing facility
was completed in Onagawa Town in Miyagi
Prefecture, which was hit hard by the giant
earthquake and tsunami on the northern coast of Japanon March 11, 2011.
The Qatar Friend Fund, chaired by Qatari Ambassador
to Japan Yusef Mohamed Bilal, contributed about 2billion Yen for the facility under a project to assist

JAN. 2013
restoration of the area damaged by the Great East Japan
Earthquake and Tsunami.
The processing plant, named MASKAR after a traditional
fishing method in the Middle East country, went on line on
October 15, 2012.
The three-storied 23-meter facility with a floor space ofabout 6,815 square meters is equipped with a state-ofthe-art protective system against tsunamis.
The first floor is built based on the piling technique,with the external panel designed to be automaticallyremoved when the building is hit by strong waves. On thesecond floor is the refrigeration room with the storage
capacity of about 6,000 tons, and the third floor has ashelter in the event of disaster.
About 670 people will be employed at the facility,
providing a ripple effect of about Y13 billion to the town.
Takanobu Takahashi, chief of the wholesalers'cooperative at the Onagawa Fish Market, expressed
profound gratitude to Qatar’s assistance, saying thepeople in the fisheries industry will commit themselves totheir work wholeheartedly in the days ahead.

MEL Japan News
New fishery certified
under MEL Japan
Spiny Dogfish Longline Fisheryreceives MEL certificationIn October 2012, the following fishery was certified
under MEL Japan, bringing the total number ofcertified fisheries to 18.

Spiny dogfish Longline Fishery in Minmaya
Certification holder: Minmaya Fisheries Cooperative
Association (located in Aomori prefecture)
Species: Spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthias)
Fishing ground: Off Tsugaru Channel
Date of certification: October 22, 2012
In the Minmaya Fisheries Cooperative Association which
received this certification, fishermen are engaged insmall-scale longline fishing targeting a modest amount of
spiny dogfish, a kind of shark. They are actively involvedin voluntary efforts to return the small fish to the sea, andtag and release fish in order to elucidate the migratoryroutes and to establish closed seasons.
What is noteworthy about this fishery is that thetraditional and local food culture is making possible thefull utilization of sharks. In other words, the conservationof such a fishery, backed by the food culture, contributes
to the promotion of a sustainable fishery as a whole.
When there is no culture, the litany of 'full utilization'
makes no sense, and it would just end up as idealism.
The MEL Japan Secretariat promotes sustainability ofthis fishery, and strongly hopes for preservation of the
traditional culture of utilization of the certified products.

The readers are cordially invited to send their comments on articles in this issue to mnishimu@suisankai.or.jp--Editor