ISARIBI NO.61

ISSN1346-2512

JapanFisheries
AssociationNO.61, DEC. 2008
Sankaido Bldg.,
9-13 Akasaka 1, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 107-0052
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Views and Opinions of Japan’s Fisheries Industry

World Fisheries CongressEmperor calls for mobilizing wisdom
for sustainable use of seafoodT

he 5th World Fisheries Congress 2008 washeld in Yokohama, Japan, October 20-24,
under the theme "Fisheries for Global Welfare and Conservation."
At the quadrennial meeting, the first to beheld in Japan, delegates from about 80 countries
exchanged views on issues such as the optimum
management and the sustainable utilization ofﬁshery resources as well as the conservation ofbiodiversity.
The commemorative ceremony, held on October 22, was attended by His Majesty Emperor
Akihito and Empress Michiko, with the participation of about 1,000 fisheries researchers andindustry representatives.
In his address at the ceremony, the Emperor
stated: "Mankind has been using many kinds ofaquatic life as food from time immemorial. In
recent years, however, the depletion of aquatic
living resources has become a serious issue asa result of the overexploitation of marine resources and environmental deterioration. Whileindustrial production played a great role in the
postwar development of Japan, it caused at
the same time contamination of the sea andthe loss of breeding grounds for marine species. Seaweed beds around Japan, which havean important role in the breeding of aquatic life,
have decreased by as much as 40% during thepast three decades, and the productivity of theoceans has declined.""In order to improve the marine environment and recover the abundance of living species through adequate resource management,a variety of ﬁsheries research and studies havebeen carried out. It is truly encouraging to seethat management measures have been introduced
based on the results of such research and studies.
"In Japan, there had once been forests in many
places along the coasts, which had been forbidden
to be cut down as they were related to the habitats of ﬁsh. Unfortunately, many of these forests
have been cut down since the middle of the 19thcentury. In recent years, however, the functionsof forests came to be reconsidered from the viewpoint of ﬁsheries science. Importantly, efforts havebeen made by ﬁshermen to plant trees in the upper
reaches of rivers.""The oceans, which are the subject of ﬁsheriesscience, link the world. I believe that cooperation
among fisheries scientists transcending nationalborders is essential. It is my sincere wish that thewisdom of various areas related to ﬁsheries is mobilized and the results of the research will contribute to promoting the well-being of mankind," theEmperor concluded.
After the ceremony, a reception was held, inwhich the Emperor and the Empress conversed withthe participants.

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

ISARIBI NO.61

DEC. 2008

Sustainable Fisheries Symposium

Symposium on food security and sustainable ﬁsheries heldin Tokyo

Asymposium on food security and the contribution of sustainable ﬁsheries was held inTokyo recently under the joint sponsorshipof the Japan Fisheries Association (JFA) and theBeneﬁciaries of the Sea Coalition, a ﬁsheries conservation non-governmental organization (NGO).
At the symposium, also supported by the Fisheries Agency of the Japanese Government, active
discussion took place regarding issues such as
the role of ﬁsheries in food security and futuretasks that the ﬁshing industry should undertake.
In a keynote speech on the contribution of ﬁsheries to food security, Ichiro Nomura, Assistant
Director-General of the Fisheries and Aquaculture
Department of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), reviewed the present state of ﬁsheries and aquaculture as well as
the production and utilization of marine fisheryresources. Nomura discussed some of the issues
currently facing ﬁsheries and aquaculture seen in
the light of food security.
He expressed the hope that the Japanese ﬁsheries system, in which the administrators areclosely communicating with ﬁshers and the actual
state of ﬁshers is well-known by the administrators, will be applied internationally as well.
Nomura told the audience that 47% of theworld's overall ﬁsheries and aquaculture production in 2006 came from aquaculture.
Noting that the proportion of aquaculture inﬁsheries production has been growing from year
to year, he noted that whether aquaculture willkeep growing in the years ahead is essential interms of food security. Production from marine
wild ﬁshery resources has remained almost unchanged during the past 10 to 15 years, he added.
Unless aquaculture production is expanded
while managing the stocks of excessively exploited ﬁsh species, mankind will not catch up withthe world demand for food by 2050.
As issues facing the contribution of sustainablefisheries and aquaculture to food security, Nomura enumerated on those such as the harmony
between utilization and conservation, the reinforcement of ﬁsheries management systems andmanagement policies, and promoting the participation of developing countries in the efforts ofresource conservation around the world.
Specifically, he pointed out that a balance

Photo by courtesy of OPRT

should be kept between the FAO and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Speciesof Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). There is a needto address some living species from both their biological protection and their utilization as food. To
achieve this balance, international organizations
should cooperate among themselves.
Further, changes are needed in ﬁsheries management policies around the world. These changes
might include the termination of "production-ﬁrst"
policies in which fishers tend to compete witheach other to catch as much of a resource as theycan. In connection with this issue, multilateral approaches are needed to determine the desirable
state of ﬁsheries management, he said.
At the same time, the perspective from fishers should not be overlooked. There is a need tointroduce a ﬁshing right system that is acceptedfrom the standpoint of both resource conservationand harvesting, avoiding confrontation between
differing positions as much as possible. It is also
important to establish a system in which consumers can contribute to sustainable ﬁsheries througheco-labeling systems.
For the future, there is a need to promote ﬁsheries management policies, taking into accountthe conservation and utilization of marine living
resources, the conservation of ecosystems, andthe possible impact of aquaculture on the environment as well as the effects of resource management on the livelihoods of ﬁshers, Nomura said.
The speech was followed by panel discussions
including administrators, academics, fishers andconsumers, on the importance of fisheries fromthe perspective to vitalize ﬁsheries in Japan.

Page 2ISARIBI NO.61

DEC. 2008

MEL Japan News

Promotion of sustainable ﬁshing -keywords to MEL Japan eco-labeling scheme

Following Mr. Nomura's speech at the symposium on food security and contribution ofsustainable ﬁsheries, JFA Executive Managing
Director Toshinori Saito explained the objectivesof the Marine Eco-label Japan (MEL Japan) system,
which the JFA is promoting as the secretariat.
Saito observed that, while ﬁsh consumption ison a gradual decline in Japan, demand for seafoodis expanding in other parts of the world. It will
become increasingly realistic that seafood will support the burgeoning world population in the future,and that seafood will come to assume a greater
value as an international trade commodity.
He warned, however, that the excessive use of fisheryresources is now taking place around theworld, posing the riskof making their sustainable use by later
generations difﬁcult.
It is against this background that MEL Japanwas introduced not only as a slogan for the sustainable use of seafood but also as a means topromote cooperation for achieving the properuse of ﬁshery resources among all stakeholders
involved: producers, distributors, consumers,
administrators and researchers.
Notably, under the Japanese-type ﬁshery management system in which ﬁshers jointly manage
fishery resources, MEL Japan will support andencourage their voluntary efforts to achieve sustainable use.
As speciﬁc features of the system, Saito emphasized (1) that MEL Japan is in line with theguidelines for ﬁshery eco-labeling established by
the FAO to satisfy international criteria; (2) theexcellent ﬁshery management system of Japan
will be respected and utilized; (3) a certification body, and a council and auditing body willbe established to ensure that the examinationand certiﬁcation for the use of ecolabels be carried out equitably and objectively; (4) the costs
for certiﬁcation shall be restrained to a minimum
possible level so that those who pursue the sustainable use of ﬁshery resources can participate
in the ecolabeling system; and (5) the systemshall be reviewed every two years.

In closing his remarks, Saito called for cooperation among producers, distributors and consumers
so that the MEL Japan eco-labeling system, which
is aimed to promote sustainable ﬁshing, will be accepted throughout Japan.

Little clam ﬁshery in Aomori
applies for MEL Japancertiﬁcation

JFJusan Fisheries Cooperative Associationin Aomori Prefecture, located in northern
Honshu (the main island of Japan), hasrecently applied for MEL Japan production-stage
certiﬁcation for its corbicula japonica (little clam)ﬁshery in Jusan Lake.
In making the application, the association emphasized that it has been striving to keep this ﬁshery sustainable under a comprehensive management system.
Speciﬁcally, the association said the ﬁshery iscarried out April 10-July 10 and August 21-15,
with the period from July 10 to August 20 set asa closed season. Other established regulatory
measures include closed areas, operating time andcatch limitations, an anti-poaching system, andsurveys on stock size and the environment.
Upon receiving the application, the MEL Japan
Secretariat initiated local surveys and the examination of documents for certiﬁcation of this ﬁshery.
The MEL Japan scheme is designed to certify
ﬁsheries coping actively with the conservation ofresources and their ecosystems with the aim toencourage and promote sustainable fishing practices.

Topics

DHA in ﬁsh is effective inpreventing disorders inchildren

Asymposium on children's growth and development and ﬁsh nutrition was held in Tokyo
on October 27 under the joint sponsorship ofPage 3

ISARIBI NO.61
the JFA and other organizations.
About 200 people from ﬁshing companies, foodcompanies, and hospitals, including nutritionists,attended the symposium.
Prof. Toshiaki Shimizu of the Medical School ofJuntendo University delivered a keynote speech
under the theme: "Does fish make smart children? Child's nutrition should start from pregnancy."
In his speech, Prof. Shimizu emphasized that
docosahexanoeic acid (DHA) is necessary for fetuses and babies immediately after birth. He said
that it is very important for pregnant and lactating women to eat ﬁsh for the development of achild's brain because DHA functions to reduce therate of occurrence of disorders after the birth.

I

Three Sea Shepherd
activists placedon wanted listn September, the Tokyo Metropolitan Police
Department placed three environmental activists of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on an international wanted list through theInternational Criminal Police Organization (ICPO)
for interference in Japan's whaling activities inthe Antarctic Ocean in February 2007.
On August 18, 2008, the Tokyo police obtainedarrest warrants for the three men -- Ralph Koo,41, and Jonathan Batchelor, 30, who are bothU.S. nationals, and Daniel Bebawi, a 28-year-oldBriton.
While anti-whaling activists have repeatedly
disrupted Japan's research whaling activities
since around 2000, this is the first time police
have pressed criminal charges.
According to the police, on February 12 lastyear, Koo is suspected to have thrown smoking
projectiles from the Sea Shepherd vessel onto
the Kaiko Maru, a Japanese sighting vessel thatwas part of the Antarctic whale research program.
Batchelor and Bebawi are accused to haveengaged in the prevention of the Kaiko Maru’snavigation system by throwing ropes from theirrubber boat to have them entangled with theJapanese vessel’s propeller.
Also, on November 28, the police obtained anarrest warrant for Hester Barthels, a 41-year-old
Dutch member of Sea Shepherd on suspicion ofthrowing smoking objects onto the Kaiko Maru.
She will also be put on an international wanted
list shortly.
Police suspect that there are at least two others who engaged in interference, and are now
continuing investigations to identify those persons.

DEC. 2008.

Answers to groundless criticism ofJapan's research whaling by antiwhaling groups (3)(continued from the previous issue)
4. Japan is recruiting its supporters
at the IWC by buying votes using
its official development assistance(ODA).
A. Such criticism is sheerly groundlessbecause Japan is extending its overseas
economic assistance to both anti-whaling
countries and pro-sustainable use
countries alike. It is an insult to developingc o u n t r i e s r e c e i v i n g J a p a n ’s f i s h e r i es
assistance. Countries in the Caribbean
region, for example, are expressing theiranger against such slanderous remarks.
5. Japan should not go to the Antarctic
Ocean to catch whales. Japanesewhaling should be limited to its
exclusive economic zone.
A. We believe that whales are valuable
food resources for mankind. Given theprospect of future stringent food shortages
in the world, abundant marine resources
should be utilized for mankind with utmostcare. Living resources, such as whales,
are renewable. If we continue to usethem within their renewable capacity, theresources will never deplete. The Antarctic
is a treasurehouse of whale resources.
Japan believes that to continue researchon the whale resources in this area willcontribute to the solution of the foodproblem facing mankind.
Furthermore, increasing doubts havebeen cast on the possibility of boostingfood production on land because of suchproblems as soil contamination and water
shortage. Therefore, the sustainable use ofmarine living resources, whether they arein distant-waters or near-shore areas, will
come to assume a greater importance infuture. It is based on this perspective thatJapan is carrying out its whale research
catch programs not only in its near-shore
areas but also in the Antarctic. To limit theresearch only to the exclusive economic
zone and abandon any research effort in
the Antarctic goes against the promotionof the principle of sustainable utilization ofmarine living resources.

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