ISARIBI NO.69

ISSN1346-2512

JapanFisheries
AssociationNO.69, FEB. 2011
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

JFA President message

JFA is committed to promote MEL Japan scheme;

will prop up Japan's seafood supply power and boost demandIn a New Year press conference, Toshiro Shirasu,
president of the Japan Fisheries Association( J FA ) s t a t e d t h a t t h e J FA w i l l p r o m o t e i t sactivities in line with the three major goals in 2011:(1) enhancing Japan's seafood supply capability, (2)expansion of demand for seafood, and (3) raisingconsumer awareness toward fishery resource
management through the promotion of the marine
eco-labeling scheme. Given below is a summary of
his remark at the press conference.

(1) Enhancing seafood supply capability
The seafood supply-demand has undergone a
drastic change in recent years. Demand expanded
signiﬁcantly outside Japan, and ﬁsh prices soared.
The fish catch in Japan has been on a decrease,and Japan has not been able to procure adequate
amount of imported seafood as Japanese traders
were outfought by foreign competitors in thebuying race. There is, so to speak, a concern forthe hollowing-out of the seafood market in Japan.
The world catch has hit the ceiling, and fisheries
are facing the issues such as the global climatechange and pressures for reduction of catchfrom conservationist organizations. Under thesecircumstances, we have not much room to expectﬁsheries production will increase sizably in the years
ahead, and we foresee more intense competition
over ﬁshery resources among countries.
In contrast with overseas markets, fishconsumption in Japan has been on a declining
trend. There is a concern that we may not haveadequate supply when we really need fish. The
recent incident involving a restriction on importsof rare earth materials from China raised the issueof how important it is to procure natural resourcesin our own country. We need to enhance the selfsufﬁciency rate of agricultural and ﬁshery products
as a national policy.
In order to ensure stable supply of fisheryresources, we need to secure fisheries workforceand ﬁshing vessels. On the issue of workforce, wehave made a signiﬁcant progress as compensationof fishers' income
will be implemented
under the fiscal
2011 nationalbudget. But weare facing anurgent need toensure availabilityof fishing vessels
because morethan 70% of theﬁshing vessels usedcurrently in Japanare outmoded,
being 20 years or older.

(2) Expansion of demand for seafood
There is no future for the industry that suffers fromshrinking demand. There would be no growth in Japan's
fisheries industry without increase in demand for
seafood. Fishing companies, ﬁsh markets and regional
governments have been making strenuous efforts
to boost demand for ﬁsh in Japan. It is necessary toreview these efforts from a comprehensive perspective
to identify and correct any duplications and lacks sothat we can cope with this issue more efﬁciently. In thisrespect, we may be able to learn from the successful
cases of efforts made in Korea, Norway and othercountries.
The key to expansion of demand lies in having
children (who are the future consumers) eat more ﬁsh.
We are also considering giving a greater emphasis on
demand expansion at the Tokyo International Seafood& Technology Expo which we plan to organize thissummer.

(3) Marine eco-labeling scheme
Japan is an advanced country in terms of resource
management , as seen i n i t s i ni t i at i ve t o re d u c e
the number of tuna fishing vessels in advance ofother countries. It is crucial to step up our efforts inecosystem conservation in order to ensure long-lasting
consumption of seafood. We have obligations to take

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

ISARIBI NO.69FEB. 2011

sufficient heed to fisheries resources in our fishingactivities.
Our Marine Eco-labeling Japan (MEL Japan)
Scheme is an effective means to have such effortsof fishers widely understood by consumers. Thisscheme drew attention of participants at COP10 of theConvention of Biodiversity held last year in Nagoya,Japan. Currently six fisheries have been certified
under the MEL Japan scheme. We are committed toincrease the number of ﬁsheries in the days ahead.
At the same time, we will act upon mass retailers
and other sellers to adopt the marine eco-label on theproducts they market, and will educate the consumers
on the importance of the marine eco-label.

MEL Japan NewsMEL JAPAN RECEIVED 8TH APPLICATION

M

arine Eco-label Japan (MEL Japan) hasr e c e i ve d a p p l i c a t i o n f o r J a p a n e s e s a n dlance and whitebait seine fishery in Setsu.
The applicant, Setsu Boat Seiners Association, isbased in Kobe city and the ﬁshery targets Japanesesand lance and whitebait in Osaka Bay. This is theeighth application MEL Japan has received to date.
Minamikayabe set-net ﬁshery in Hokkaido, northernJapan, is expected to be certiﬁed before summer.
MEL Japan also plans to expand its promotional
activities particularly in the distribution and retailsectors this year. Such efforts will include exhibitionin trade shows including Foodex (Makuhari Messe,Chiba, March 1 to 4), one of the biggest food tradeshows in Asia targeting buyers from all food andbeverage industry sectors.

Sustainable use and conservation
Ex-FAO leader says Japanese coastalresource management is a model case ofsustainable utilizationneeded in 2050 on the assumption that per-capita
intake of seafood in the world will stay at the samelevel as present. To achieve this level, it is necessary
to double the aquaculture production from the present
level, although there are some issues to be resolved
before this goal is realized, he said.
Regarding ﬁsheries management, Nomura explainedthat the regional ﬁsheries management organizations(RFMOs), such as the International Commission for theConservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), will manage
the resources throughout the world, and action plans
and guidelines have been developed with respect tospeciﬁc issues such as control of overﬁshing and illegalﬁshing.
He pointed out that sufﬁcient frameworks necessary
to implement effective fisheries management are
already in place, but implementation and compliancehas been inadequate. It seems that fisheries
managers around the world have become somewhat
overwhelmed by too many frameworks that have beendeveloped.
Fisheries management will not succeed without theunderstanding and backing of ﬁshers. The top-down
approach is not appropriate. In Japan, management ofcoastal ﬁsheries has been conducted at the initiative ofﬁshers, centering on ﬁsheries cooperative associations,and there are laws that guarantee the implementation.
This type of management, which does not exist inother parts of the world, presents itself as an excellent
model case, in which ﬁsheries are managed throughthe consensus of ﬁshers. I believe Japan should makegreater efforts internationally to let this system known
widely as a case of success.
Nomura further touched on other issues, including
the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), marine ecolabeling and marine protected areas.
Fisheries can not last long unless ﬁshers seriously
cope with the environmental issues, he said,emphasizing the importance of coexistence between
sustainable use and conservation.
Regarding the future of fisheries, Nomura notedthat it is important to deliberate on ways how to makeﬁsheries proﬁtable, achieve food security and ensuresustainable consumption and production patterns.

Seafood campaign

Mr. Ichiro Nomura, former Assistant DirectorG e n e ra l o f t h e F i s h e r i e s D e p a r t m e n t o f
the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO), delivered a lecture under thetheme: "The situation of the world's fisheries andthe role of FAO," at the Tokyo University of Marine
Science and Technology on January 10. Nomura has
been named adviser to the president of the university.
In the lecture, Nomura explained the present
situation of fisheries and aquaculture in the world,by outlining the activities of the FAO's Aquaculture
Department.
The world ﬁsheries and aquaculture production in2008 was 140 million tons, of which 110 million tons
were for edible use. Production from marine andinland ﬁsheries has approached its limit and remainedlevel in recent years. The growth of aquaculture owes
much to the development in China.
From the perspective of food security, it is forecast
that additional 50 million tons will most probably be

Sushi Truck campaigns for Kyushu ﬁshin central Tokyo

A

fish diet promotion event using "Sushi Truck"
was carried out in a square in front of the Tokyo
Tower on Nov. 21, 2010, by volunteers fromSaeki City in Oita Prefecture, Kyushu. Western Japan.
Saeki, is facing the Bungo Channel that separates
the western area of Shikoku and the eastern area ofKyushu, linking the Setonaikai Inland Sea with thePaciﬁc Ocean. The area is well-known for its plentiful
and variety of ﬁsh.
This was the ﬁrst time for the campaign truck tovisit Japan's main island of Honshu. In the event,local sushi was distributed free to the visitors. Otherfoods like seafood bowl and tempura were sold for areasonable one-coin price of 500 yen. Local producessuch as processed seafood, citrus fruit and shochu, aPage 2ISARIBI NO.69
traditional distilled liquor, were also offered for sale.
At 10:00 a.m. under the clear sky, many people
formed a queue for 1,111 servings of sushi to behanded out on a ﬁrst-come-ﬁrst-served basis. What
attracted the eyes of the visitors was the loading
platform of the truck which was turned into a sushi
kitchen. When the wings of the truck load wereopened, you could see a counter, where a cook wasbusily preparing sushi. Usually, visitors go up to theplatform to eat sushi, but this time there were too
many people to be accommodated in that space, sosushi plates were carried down from the platform to
be distributed to the people waiting outside.
One plate had three pieces of sushi, consisting of
fresh horse mackerel, yellowtail and sea bream fromthe Bungo Channel. The number “3” was chosen
after 3,333 meters, which is the height of the Tokyo
Tower. All the sushi was consumed in a very shortperiod.
Sushi eating was followed by a variety of stage
shows, including local folk dances, songs, drum
performance and live music to entertain thevisitors for the rest of the day. Especially, the local
folk dance, "Yosakoi Soran," was performed byfemale students form Seitoku University who wore
traditional "happi" livery coats, with a dyed slogan
saying "Let's eat healthy ﬁsh!"Also a banner saying "Let's eat ﬁsh" was hoisted
between the truck and the stage, and numbers ofbooths were set up to display and sell Saeki's local
cuisines and other specialties, including beautiful
shells, fried surimi (fish paste), soup, pickled fishand noodles at reasonable prices. Notably, "mackerelpasta," a new locally-developed menu, attracted
visitors' special attention.
Sales were brisk amid lively atmosphere, with thestaff having hard time catching up with the rush oforders.
As the day closed in a great success, Mr. Katsuya
Doi, the initiator and chief organizer of the event,looked much relieved. Doi, president of a trucking
company in Saeki, was engaged in transport ofthe catch from purse-seine ﬁshing. He had a senseof crisis about decreasing fish catch year by year,
diminishing number of fishermen, and decline ofthe town. He thought a major cause of the slump
in fisheries was the decrease in fish consumption.
So he began a campaign to promote ﬁsh diet, in his
company's 25-ton trucks with a slogan of "Let's eatﬁsh!" not only in Saeki but elsewhere in Kyushu.

FEB. 2011

Further, in the hope to enliven fishermen andencourage the townsfolk to face the town’s economic
problems together, he opened a "Port Market" at anunoccupied factory building near the ﬁsh market to selllocal fresh ﬁsh and cooked food in collaboration withhis friends. He further introduced "Sushi-tora," a large
engine-powered sushi stand, his second idea using atruck.
The concept was drawn from his hope to present
what he calls the world's best sushi using superb ﬁshfostered in the Bungo Channel where kuroshio current
flows. Sushi-tora became well-known and popular inmany places in Kyushu, where ﬁsh-related events wereheld.
The recent event in Tokyo was realized as thiscampaign was promoted by cooperative efforts of local
ﬁshermen, members of the chamber of commerce andindustry, and non-proﬁt organizations.
What Mr. Doi pursued was not only to publicize ﬁshand sushi of Saeki but also to encourage consumptionof seafood as a whole.

TopicsJapanese saury is gaining popularityin Vietnam

Vietnam's imports of Pacific saury from Japan
have been increasing conspicuously in recentyears, according to the Ho Chi Minh ofﬁce of theJapan External Trade Organization (JETRO).
Japanese saury having higher fat contents continues
to enjoy high popularity in Vietnam. Last October,
JETRO dispatched Vietnamese buyers to Nemuro,eastern Hokkaido in Japan, and they are nowpreparing to start full-scale trading shortly.
Saury exports from Japan to Vietnam showed asharp increase to 4,808 tons in 2008 from only 284
tons in 2007. In 2009, exports further grew 9.4% to5,258 tons.
Among importers of Japanese saury, Vietnam ranks
the fifth, after Russia, Korea, China and Thailand.
Saury, a species inhabiting the cold-water zone, is notharvested in Vietnam.
It is assumed that the popularity of saury wastriggered in Vietnam when large quantities of frozen

Page 3

ISARIBI NO.69saury were exported from Japan in 2008 after thestrong landings in the fall of 2007.
Vietnamese people have had preference forfreshwater ﬁsh, but as foreign foods and food culture
were introduced, the popularity of fat-rich marine
ﬁsh from northern countries is rising.
Exports from Japan in 2010 slumped, with 732
tons by September, probably because traders could
not contract the volume they expected due probably
to poor harvests in Japan and the strong yen.
However, some importers say that Japanese saury
is valued especially highly in Vietnam because it isricher in fat contents and tastier than saury fromAustralia and Taiwan.
In mid-October last year, JETRO sent three
Vietnamese fish buyers to Nemuro, who visitedprocessing plants and attended business meetings
with local exporters. Negotiations are underway now
with the target to import a bulk of fish, including
saury and salmon head.
The type of fish that Vietnamese traders are
considering importing is small-size saury, called"jami-samma," which are not so widely used locally.
This means that ﬁshers in Nemuro have found a newvalue to saury. Further, in Vietnam, salmon heads
came to be used recently as the stock for soup,which also means that Nemuro has found a newcommercial value for this part of ﬁsh.
Expectation is high in Nemuro for stepped upexports in 2011.
Other than Vietnam, Japanese fish, such as
mackerel, have been exported to countries that
depend on ﬁsh for protein source, such as Egypt andNigeria.

First vending machine to promote ocean
protection introduced in TokyoT

he ﬁrst beverage vending machine to promote
fund-raising for protecting oceans was installedin the campus of the Tokyo University of Marine
Science and Technology on November 26, 2010.
The project was initiated by the Committee toPromote Ocean Protection Campaign, with thecooperation of Asahi Calpis Beverage Co. The
committee is headed by Mr. Ikuhiro Hattori, presidentof the JF-Zengyoren, a nationwide federation ofﬁsheries cooperative associations.
The vendor has a sticker saying "The can you
bought protects the oceans," and anyone who buys
beverage from it will automatically donate one yen

FEB. 2011
per can to the committee.
The committee will use the fund for the activities toprotect the oceans, such as the programs to releasejuvenile ﬁsh and shellﬁsh into the sea, and revitalize
the seaweed beds and tidelands.

Meeting on sustainable use of whales heldin Shimonoseki

The Fisheries Agency organized, jointly with
the Foreign Ministry, a meeting on sustainableutilization of whales in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi
Prefecture, western Japan, Nov. 30-Dec.1, to promoteexchange of views among countries suppo r t i n gsustainable use of whales and to develop the common
future plans. The meeting was participated in by 24
countries and territory. The Japanese delegation washeaded by Jun Yamashita, then-Deputy DirectorGeneral of the Fisheries Agency.
The agency said that participants engaged in candid
exchange of views regarding the policy toward thecoming annual meeting of the International Whaling
Commission and conﬁrmed that they will continue toget united in the days ahead.

Editorial
Stop the terrorist attack to legitimate
scientiﬁc research whaling programS

cientiﬁc research on the whale stock is now
being conducted in the ice-cold waters ofthe Antarctic. This research is recognizedby the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
as a legitimate activity pursuant to the provisionsof the International Convention for the Regulationof Whaling, and the findings from the research
have been valued highly by the IWC ScientificCommittee.
However, a radical conservation organization has
been repeatedly engaged in attacks against theJapanese research vessels in an attempt to halt
the research by violence.
The Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) has
issued a statement calling for sensible acts by
the international community at large and thecountries concerned in particular. In the statement
ICR strongly condemned the Sea Shepherd
Conservation Society (SSCS) and its continued
dangerous and violent actions against Japan’s
whale research vessels in the Antarctic.
“We call on all related countries including theNetherlands which is the Steve Irwin flag stateand Australia, the Gojira provisional ﬂag state andthe virtual home port of these vessels, to stop
condoning the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
violent actions and to take every means available
to restrain them. Further, we strongly request thatthese countries deal with the SSCS criminal actions
in a strict and objective manner according to theirinternational obligations,” the ICR said.
Will the international community continue totolerate this wrongful violence? Will no one act
to save the people who are exposed to blatantviolence?

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