ISARIBI NO.83

ISSN1346-2512

ISARIBIJapanFisheries
Association Fishing Fire

漁火NO.83, NOV. 2014
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

16th International Seafood Expo highlights fishand Japanese cuisine;marks a record number of 732 exhibitors

The 16th Japan International Seafood &Technology Expo was held at the Big Sight
in Tokyo August 20-21, 2014, under thecatchphrase “Fish Is An Essential Component ofWashoku (traditional Japanese cuisine).” In March
2013, UNESCO formally approved to add Washoku
to its prestigious Intangible Cultural Heritage list,
recognizing the value of Washoku among global
food cultures.
A record number of 732 companies andorganizations participated in the expo with 1,033
booths, largely surpassing last year’s 701 exhibitors(950 booths). From overseas, 108 exhibitors from18 countries and two territories took part in theshow, including the Republic of Ireland that madeits debut to the expo this year. The number offoreign participants last year was 16 countries andthree territories.
In line with the catchphrase, the expo held theWorld Sushi Contest, in which sushi chefs fromJapan and other countries competed with theirskills. At some booths, a variety of combinations ofJapanese sake and fish were presented.
The then Minister of Agriculture, Forestry andFisheries, Yoshimasa Hayashi, who visited theexpo for the second year in row, encouraged theparticipants to promote fish cuisine around theworld.
At the opening ceremony, President of theJapan Fisheries Association (JFA), Toshiro Shirasu,
underlined that this year’s expo highlights theexpansion of fish eating cultures, the promotionof seafood exports and the importance of fish inWashoku. He outlined major presentations at theshow, stressing that, thanks to the government’sgrowth strategy, expectations are high for thecountry’s economic recovery and rising demand for
seafood. He expressed the hope that this event will
enliven Japan’s fisheries industry and contribute tobringing life to Japan, a leading fishing nation in theworld.
As the principal guest of honor, Minister Hayashi
stated that, after visiting the Foodex Show in Hong
Kong this year, he was deeply impressed with therising interest in Japanese cuisine, for which amajor player is fish, a healthy and nutritious food.
He noted that Japan’s exports of food last year saw
a significant growth over the previous year--which
was apparently led vigorously by seafood. He further
projected Japan’s food exports this year will rise to an
all-time high, noting that the exports in the first six
months have already surpassed those of a year ago.
Most importantly, Hayashi emphasized that domestic
fish consumption should be boosted, along with thepromotion of exports. Specifically, he said he would
like to see the World Sushi Contest provide a timely
opportunity to make the authentic sushi of Japan
widely known around the globe.
During the three-day expo, the Agri-Food Expo,organized by the Japan External Trade Organization(JETRO), was held concurrently in an adjacent site,to which 30 selected buyers from 14 foreign countries
and one territory were invited. At the Seafood Expoand the Agri-Food Expo combined, a total of 256 active
business negotiations were conducted.
The Marine Eco-label Japan (MEL-Japan) Secretariat

MEL-Japan booth at the Expo

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

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publicized its activities at the Seafood Expo. The
Cooperative for Japanese Sand Lance and Whitebait
Fishery in Setsu, Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan,
which has obtained MEL-Japan chain-of-custodycertification, offered a sampling session for its
products, including processed sand lance. Visitors
showed strong interest in a variety of MEL-Japancertified products exhibited at the show. Major
products displayed included common freshwaterclam (Lake Jusan Common Freshwater ClamFishery), skipjack (Pelagic Pole and Line Skipjack
Fishery / Skipjack Trolling Fishery), alfonsino(Alfonsino Driftnet Fishery), blue mackerel (Mackerel
Vertical Longline Fishery), silver-stripe round herring(Medium-type Silver-stripe Round Herring Purse
Seine Fishery at Sukumo Bay), and anchovy (AnchovyPurse Seine Fishery at Tachibana Bay).

MEL-Japan certified products

Marine Eco-Label Japan andits Contribution to Sustainable
Fisheries (Part II)
Masashi Nishimura, the Marine Eco-Label Japan(or MEL Japan) secretariat, made a presentationin the 13th World Tuna Trade Conference hostedby INFOFISH in Bangkok, 21-23 May, 2014. Thisis one big step to increase recognition by foreign
stake holders and MEL Japan plans to further
strengthen communication with foreign publicrelations. What follows is the second and lastpart of the manucript of Nishimura’s presentation(continued from the previous issue).

M

EL Japan is a third party certification scheme
to ensure scientific and objective certification.
We h a v e a n i n d e p e n d e n t c e r t i f i c a t i o nbody, the Japan Fisheries Resource Conservation
Association. We need more bodies, and I hope wewill have another in the near future.
Regarding the features of MEL Japan, the firstis that the scheme effectively applies the concept
of co-management to certification as a means
to create and reinforce a positive cycle in which
fishers, through ecolabel certification, give closer
attention to resource management, reinforce
cooperation with scientists and administrators, andcontribute to the accumulation of scientific data
and the improvement through fishing activities.
Specifically, many small-scale fishers target a varietyof species in Japan. The chart shows the number ofspecies constituting 80% of the entire production
by country. In Nordic countries such as Norway
and Iceland, 5 or 6 species is enough to make 80%
while in Japan and South Korea, they need 18 or 20species. Other Asian countries might be similar. This
is not a question of which is ‘the right fishery’ and‘the wrong fishery’, but this is simply what they do
and how they are.
Fishermen play the principal role in co-managing
such diverse small scale fisheries. Unlike the idea of
the government controlling naturally bad fishermen,
Japanese fishermen have committed themselves toconservation because their livelihoods have been
dependent on marine resources. Japan has a historyof co-management for 200 or 300 years.
Use of relevant traditional, fisher or community
knowledge for assessment is included in theFAO guidelines. MEL Japan, therefore, conducts
assessments with the best available scientificevidence obtained from fishermen through comanagement as well as from advanced assessment
technologies.
Furthermore, the effectiveness of co-management
is also supported by a Nobel prize winner, Elinor
Ostrom. According to her, “Common property
regimes typically function at a local level to preventthe overexploitation of a resource system fromwhich fringe units can be extracted.”
Another feature of MEL Japan is promoting
positive activities in harmony with diverse players.
MEL Japan is designed:-to help those who need help to ensure/improve
the sustainability of fisheries:- to help those who are committed to sustainablefisheries: and,- for those who need a tool to better communicate
with consumers on their commitment tosustainable fisheries.
MEL Japan is not a trade barrier, nor is it designed
to compete with or exclude other schemes.
Japanese cuisine, Washoku in Japanese, was added
to the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage lastDecember. Shoku means ‘food’ or ‘cuisine’ andwa means ‘peace’ or ’harmony’. What we want toPage 2

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expand is a peaceful and positive movement topromote sustainability.
Another similar feature is that we have supporters
throughout the country. They are researchers,consumers, retailors, and trade associations.
As one such example, a consumer’s association
hosted a bus tour to visit eco-friendly fishingcommunities. The tour visited fishing communities
with a MEL Japan certified fishery. The headof the fisheries cooperative of the community
explained their commitment to sustainable fisheries
to the participants. Most of the members of theconsumer organization are housewives, and they
are committed to speak. So, for us with a limited
budget, they are such invaluable supporters.
3. Certified fisheries
MEL Japan has so far certified 20 fisheries.
The Sea of Japan Red Snow Crab Fishery
Stardust Shrimp Two-boat Seine Fishery
Lake Jusan Common Freshwater Clam Fishery
Japanese Sand Lance Boat Seine Fishery
Offshore Pole and Line Skipjack Fishery
Pelagic Pole and Line Skipjack Fishery
Large Sized Set-net Fishery
Japanese Sand Lance and Whitebait Seine Fisheryin Setsu.
Skipjack Trolling Fishery
Alfonsino Driftnet /Angling / hand-line (usingfeather jig) Fishery
Mackerel Vertical Longline Fishery
Large-scale Pacific Saury Fishery

Small-type Set-net Fishery
Salmon Set-net Fishery
Japanese Whitebait Seine Fishery
Spiny dogfish Longline Fishery in Minmaya
Medium-type Silver-stripe Round Herring Purse Seine
Fishery at Sukumo Bay
Among the certified fisheries, I would like tointroduce a skipjack fishery since this is a tunaconference. MEL Japan has certified 3 skipjackfisheries so far, and the Pelagic Pole and Line
Skipjack Fishery is the one I am going to talk about
today.
Pelagic Pole and Line Skipjack FisherySpecies: Skipjack (Katsuwonus pelamis), Albacore(Thunnus alalunga)
Fishing ground: Western Central PacificDate of certification: December 16, 2010.
Certification holder: The Japan Tuna Fisheries
Cooperative Association (24 member fishing vessels)
Average total annual catch: 45,000 tons.
(1) Compliance with conservation measures
The certified vessels operate in the WCPFC (TheWestern and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission)
convention area in compliance with the WCPFC
regulations.
The Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative Association,in accordance with the instructions of the Fisheries
Agency of Japan, notifies the member vessels of theconservation measures adopted by the WCPFC, andensures that the vessels comply with the measures.

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If a vessel violates the measures, corrective
measures are taken including ceasing operationof the vessel in accordance with the WCPFC
regulations.
This is compliance at a minimum level. In
addition to this, fishermen make their own
efforts to ensure sustainability.
(2) Fishermen’s commitment tosustainability
The Pelagic Pole and Line Skipjack FisheryCouncil established within the Japan Tuna
Fisheries Cooperative Association conducts
reviews about six times a year on thesustainability of the fishery, including the stock
status as well as the impact of the fishery on
the ecosystem such as the dumping of waste.
T h e J a p a n Tu n a F i s h e r i e s C o o p e r a t i v e
Association and its member vessels are wellaware of the conservation measures throughmeetings and the circulation of notifications.
This is the fishermen’s proactive engagement.
Co-management is not only applicable to small
scale fisheries. Even larger scale fisheries inherit
the same DNA. The true value of MEL Japan is tonurture the good will of such fishermen.
(3) Stock assessment and status(presentation of the slide only)
Catch data are submitted through the Japanese
government to the Scientific Committee of theWCPFC as well as to the ISC (The International
Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like
Species in the North Pacific Ocean). These scientificcommittees assess the stock based on data fromthe member countries.
At present catches of the target stock since 2007
have been in the vicinity of or slightly exceed theestimated MSY.
Some of the products sourced from this fisheryare sold as ‘eco-friendly food products’ of theJapanese Consumer Co-operative Union.
4. Cost and benefits
Regarding the theme of the session, cost andbenefits of MEL Japan, I think there are roughly
two options as business models. Option 1 is highcertification cost and price premiums. While thecost of certification is high, consumers are ready to
pay 10% or 20% more, or even double the pricein this model. Option 2 is low certification cost andimproved market access. In relation to this option,
I have found an interesting report in a document
distributed during the COFI (FAO committee onFisheries) subcommittee meeting on fish trade
held in Bergen, Norway, February 2014. I quote,“it is more likely that the benefit to producers forecolabelling their seafood products is improved
market access and not price premiums.” (REPORTPage 4

ON THE EFFECTS OF ECOLABELLING SCHEMES ONFISHERIES/ COFI:FT/XIV/2014/6). If you still wantto pursue price premiums, this is fine. But we rather
use them as a tool to facilitate communications withconsumers. The ingenuity of certification holders adds
value to the label. When fishermen speak, the logospeaks.
Regarding the cost, the scheme is open to all typesof fisheries, and to that end, MEL Japan pursues
a practicable framework at affordable costs. As
one example, the certification committee of ourcertification body both located in Tokyo, appoints local
experts to assess the fishery and compile the report
without going back and forth between Tokyo andthe fishing community. The report prepared by thelocal experts is finally examined by the certificationcommittee.
Despite such efforts to cut costs, small scale
fishermen and processors still complain that theadministration cost for using the logo (30,000100,000 Japanese yen per year, depending on thescale of the certification holder) is too high. Then I
tell them that they spend this much on Karaoke in one
night, and that they have only to spare one night tocover the logo cost. But this is the reality, this is thevoice of small scale fishermen and processors, andthe challenge is how we let them participate in ourscheme.
Finally, getting back to the title of my presentation,
how can Marine Eco-Label Japan contribute toSustainable Fisheries of the world, it is our ambition
to serve as a model for a national or local scheme. We
need, however, improvement of our own scheme, andwhat we can do at present is to share our experience
with those of you who are interested in establishing asimilar scheme.
* INFOFISH is an Intergovernmental Organization
providing marketing information and technicaladvisory services to the fishery industry of the AsiaPacific region and beyond.