ISARIBI NO.65

ISSN1346-2512

NO.65, DEC. 2009

JapanFisheries
AssociationSankaido 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

Tuna issue

ICCAT demonstrates its capability as a responsible
tuna resource management organization--40% TAC cutback adopted for Eastern Atlantic blueﬁn tuna in 2010---"effective" measures for resource recovery also agreed by consensus--

The International Commission for theConservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT)
decided to substantially reduce the overall
annual quota of the Eastern Atlantic blueﬁn tunafor 2010 to 13,500 tons at its general meeting
held in Recife, Brazil, November 11-15, 2009.
This represented a reduction of about 40% fromthis year's quota of 22,000 tons.
At this year's meeting, attention wasfocused on how far the decision of ICCAT, as
an international tuna resource management
organization, can cover, amid the current
circumstances surrounding the Atlantic bluefin
tuna. Monaco has proposed Appendix I listingof Atlantic bluefin tuna at the Convention onInternational Trade in Endangered Species ofWild Fauna and Flora (CITES) with a view toenforce a total ban of international trade for thisstock.
For the years in 2011 and afterwards, theCommission will establish quotas based on theresults of stock assessment by its ScientificCommittee next year. At the same time, it also
incorporated in its decisions the option of totallybanning fishing in 2011 in case the ScientificCommittee recognized that there is a dangerof the collapse of the stock (i.e. a situation
extremely difficult for the stock to recover.)Thus, ICCAT has strongly set out its stance toimplement its resource management thoroughly
as a tuna resource management organization.
A high-ranking ofﬁcial of the Fisheries Agencyof Japan gave a positive evaluation to the resultsof the ICCAT meeting. He said that "a consensus
was formed among Member States on reductionof the quota in a way to bring a bit further therecommendation of the Scientific Committee,
which called for a quota reduction to a level
below 15,000 tons a year.”

Besides a 40% quota cutback for 2010, ICCAT
specifically agreed to shorten the purse-seineﬁshing season in the Mediterranean to one month(from May 16 to June 14) from the current season
covering a period from April 16 to June 14. Further,
the Commission agreed that each Member Stateshould curtail their fishing capacity to meet theirnational total allowable catch (TAC) by 2013.
ICCAT further took note that it will hold anintersessional meeting before the start of next
year's season in May, and it would check the stateof compliance with the resource management
measures by the Member States, and, in case thosemeasures were not complied with, it could takefurther quota reductions. Thus, the Commission
incorporated the requirement to reinforce its
management framework to have its agreement
thoroughly observed.
Regarding conservation and management
measures for Western Atlantic blueﬁn tuna, ICCAT
agreed that measures adopted last year will bemaintained. It also agreed that quotas for bigeye
tuna and swordﬁsh will be kept at the level as inprevious years.

MEL Japan NewsMEL Japan presented at PICES--the ﬁrst full-scale overseas
presentation--T

he Secretariat of Marine Eco-Label Japan (MELJapan) made presentation on the scheme andcertification of MEL Japan during the topic
session at the 18 th Annual Meeting of the North
Paciﬁc Marine Science Organization (PICES) held inJeju Special Self-Governing Province in the Republic

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

ISARIBI NO.65

DEC. 2009of Korea from October 23. This was the ﬁrst fullscale overseas presentation on the scheme since
its establishment.
As its name denotes, PICES is a body dedicatedto marine science in the North Pacific and thesurrounding areas. Its members comprise
Canada, China, Japan, the Republic of Korea andthe United States. PICES was established in 1992,based on the recognition that a marine scienceorganization matching the International Council
for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), founded
in 1902 for promotion of marine science in theAtlantic, was needed also for the Paciﬁc.
T h e g e n e ra l i m p r e s s i o n o f t h e m e e t i n g ,although observed only partially, was that thegreatest concern among participants was what
is happening in the oceans. It seemed that theexperts were discussing the issues based on
scientific models on sea water temperatures,
sea currents and fluctuations of the resourcesof feed organisms. (Mere mention of the Greek
letter Σ in a mathematical formula would sufﬁce
to scare away the outsiders!) It seems that socialand economic aspects are not focal points ofdiscussion at this moment. Therefore, it may besome time in the future when the topic such asmarine eco-labeling would attract attention of theparticipants.
MEL Japan’s presentation was made jointly withMr. Ishida, Director of Tohoku Regional Fisheries

Laboratory of the Fisheries Research Agency, whokindly arranged for this valuable opportunity.
Starting with the brief introduction of thescheme, explanations were given on the typesof fisheries certified under MEL Japan to thepresent day. It was also stressed that MEL Japan
attaches importance to the role of certified
ﬁshermen (who have high degrees of awarenessfor the sustainability) to make an appeal to thesociety, through various means such as educating
school children on the importance of sustainableﬁsheries.
Sakaiminato Center Reizo Co. obtains
approval for Chain of Custody certification
under MEL Japan scheme
S a k a i m i n a t o C e n t e r Re i z o C o. i n To t t o r iPrefecture, western Japan facing the Sea of Japan,
has obtained approval for MEL Japan certiﬁcation
on Chain of Custody (i.e. distribution andprocessing) stage. The company deals with thedistribution of the catches from the Sea of Japan
red snow crab fishery that had earlier received
MEL Japan production-stage certiﬁcation.
It engages in processing of red snow crab aswell as wholesaling of fresh fish and bait fish,storage of frozen ﬁsh and retailing of fresh ﬁsh.
It is expected that, as a result certification,
Japanese consumers will ﬁnd more seafood withMEL Japan label.

Marine environment conservation

TYoung ﬁshermen in western Japan take initiative
to foster forests in the sea

he Youth Group at Toushi Branch of Toba
Isobe Fisheries Cooperative Association in
Mie Prefecture, western Japan, has received
the award of the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry
and Fisheries for its contribution to the promotionof multi-lateral use of the marine environment.
In the following, Mineaki Hamaguchi, a memberof the cooperative, introduces the group'sproject.
1. Regional outlineThe Toushi Island is located at the mouth of Ise
Bay, about 1.5 kilometers northeast of Toba Portin Toba City in Mie Prefecture, western Japan.
With its coastlines extending 26.3 kilometers, itis the largest island in the prefecture, having a
population of about 30,000.
Coastlines are intricate and a favorable ﬁshingground has been formed near the island as
the Kuroshio Current from the Pacific and thenutrient-rich waters from the Ise Bay clash
violently in the area.
The Toushi Island also has a long history datingback to ancient times.
2. Outline of ﬁsheries
Diverse fisheries have been practiced in thearea near the Toushi Island because there exist
numerous natural reefs, and sand areas expand
further into the offshore. Major local fisheries
include boat-seine fishery targeting sand lancea n d s a r d i n e ; p o l e -a n d - l i n i n g t a r g e t i n g s e abream, mackerel and horse mackerel; gillnetting
targeting Iseebi lobster, Spanish mackerel andwhite croaker; diving fishery targeting abalone
and top shell; and octopus pot fishery. Besides,aquaculture of wakame seaweed and black laveris carried out during winter.
3. Organization and management of a study
group
The Youth Group of the Toushi Branch iscomposed of 38 members aged from 27 to39, with the average age standing at 33. The
members mainly engage in boat-seine ﬁshing andlaver aquaculture. Regardless the differences ofthe fisheries they engage, all of them have thehope to vitalize the local community. Up till now,
they have participated in activities such as raisingof juvenile flatfish for releasing into the sea,cleaning of beaches, and taking part in fisheryeducational programs at local elementary and highschools. Further, they have carried out juvenile
abalone release program by means of diving withPage 2

ISARIBI NO.65

DEC. 2009

the aim to maximize the effectiveness of theartiﬁcial release.
4. Motives for studies and selection of theproject theme
The rock reef area in Toushi is blessed withrich coastal resources such as abalone and top
shell, and fishery by female divers has beenpracticed since olden times. Previously, sea
oaks used to grow as if they formed forests inthe sea, and female divers engaged in abalone
harvest by swimming through the forests of sea
oaks. However, sea shores began to wither sincearound 1993, causing sea oaks to disappear on
the side of the island facing the Ise Bay. This
caused a drastic decrease in the stock of abalone
which feed on sea oaks.
No recovery was observed in the sea oakgrounds in subsequent years. Various efforts
were made to restore the stock of abalone,including limitation of fishing days andrelease of juvenile shellfish into the sea. But
landings of abalone remained stagnant. Theseaweed beds including sea oak ground were
important for spawning and growth of juvenile
fish. The withered sea shores which cause a
rapid decrease in seaweed beds has becomea nationwide issue. Despite the zeal andwillingness of ﬁshermen to take some actions, noeffective measures to stop the shore withering
have been found as the causes were diverse.
Four years ago, consultations were madebetween fishermen and the Toba Fisheries
Laboratory of Mie Prefecture. In the consultation,
it was pointed out that production of sea oakseeds is possible and sea oak ground may be
artiﬁcially formed using the seeds.
Female divers in the area, including mymother, had been worried that sea oak ground inToushi area might disappear totally if the present
situation continues. So we agreed to takesome actions although there was no guaranteeof success. The Youth Group thus decided tochallenge the project to form sea oak forests.
5. Study and activities and their results(1) The ﬁrst challenge
In March 2005, we started working onforming a sea oak ground with the cooperationof the Toba Fisheries Laboratory. Contrary to
our expectation, however, the results weremiserable, with all the sea oaks were foundwithered or being eaten up by fish after fourmonths.
(2) Formation of sea oak ground using
natural rocks
Sea oaks in the natural environment standwith their own stems by attaching their adhesive
organ on rocks. The base part was unstable
when what we called “the rope method” (inwhich ropes was used to avoid oaks from being
carried away) was used, and the oaks moved
horizontally when tides changed their directions.

This caused damage on the oak body, causing it towither.
In the second year, trials were made to stabilize
the base of the oaks with the aim to solidify
adhesive power. In this effort, we used naturalrocks instead of ropes.
But this trial also ended in failure in six months,
as the leaf parts of sea oak disappeared, with only
stem parts remaining.
(3) Countermeasures against eating by ﬁsh
Although we were discouraged by thedisappearance of sea oak leaves, we found thatthe project made a step forward as, compared withthe former rope method, sea oaks were attachedﬁrmly on the natural rocks. We could easily detect
the cause of the disappearance of sea oak leaves.
The leaves clearly left the trace of being eaten byseaweed-eating ﬁsh species such as rabbitﬁsh.
In the third year, in addition to the use ofnatural rocks as the base, we decided to takecountermeasures against eating by ﬁsh.
Damage caused by fish usually happen inaquaculture of laver and wakame seaweed. Thisdamage could be prevented by surrounding thesea oaks with nets.
(4) Results
In the fourth year, we continued our efforts andsucceeded in growing 1,300 sea oaks by using 500
pieces of natural rocks. Notably, sea oak growth
was conspicuous after we installed nets. The sea
oak, which was about 20cm at the time of planting
in March, grew to exceed one meter after a year.
The Fisheries Laboratory conﬁrmed that these sea
oaks were releasing zoospores, which provided thepossibility for the sea oaks to propagate naturally
in the surrounding sea area.
6. Spillover effects
Our efforts to form forests in the sea werereported by various media, including TV andnewspapers, and ﬁshermen in other areas of theprefecture launched similar activities. We began
exchanges of information with those people, andcame to know sea-shore withering had been
spreading more extensively than we had imagined,causing serious impact on ﬁsheries. It was crucial
for local ﬁshermen, who have the best knowledge
on the surrounding sea, to participate in activities
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ISARIBI NO.65
to regain the forests in the sea because locations
and sea conditions where withered sea shores
occur and the state of damage by ﬁsh differedfrom one place to another.
7. Future issues
We could ﬁnd out ways to make sea oaks grow,although our initial efforts had been continuouserrors. The method we found out requires thework of divers. Therefore, how many divers
can take part in the project would be crucial indeciding the scale of sea oak ground formation.
At present, we are discussing ways to attach sea
oak seeds directly to the rocks so that we canfurther expand the scale of ground formation.

JFA Symposium
Fish diet shown to have effects
against Alzheimer's and metabolic
syndrome--JFA symposium on ﬁsh diet and aging--

Th e J a p a n F i s h e r i e s A s s o c i a t i o n ( J FA )held, jointly with the Tokyo Nutritionists
Association, a symposium under thetheme of "Anti-aging -- Fish Diet and Mental
and Physical Health" in Tokyo on November 13.
It was attended by about 160 people, including
nutritionists, fisheries industry representatives
and ordinary citizens.
The symposium featured lectures on therelations between Alzheimer's and dietary life
and the seminar on muscle training to avoid bedridden life. Also the results of the survey on thepossible effects of ﬁsh oil intake in relations tothe factors conducive to metabolic syndrome.
At the outset, JFA Executive Managing Director
Yoshiyuki Shige addressed the audience onbehalf of the sponsor. He said: "A well-balanced
food life is essential for maintaining health. It
is important for us in the fisheries industry toengage, with pride and conﬁdence, in our mission
to enlighten the consumer that seafood is goodfor health. I hope this symposium will provide agood opportunity to promote your knowledge on
seafood and health."
This was followed by a lecture of Prof. Akira
Ueki of Jichi Medical University on the relations
between Alzheimer's and food life. Ueki pointed

DEC. 2009
out, as dangerous factors leading to Alzheimer(1) heredity, (2) vascular factors (high bloodpressures, diabetes, high cholesterol, obesity, etc.)
and (3) lifestyle-related factors.
As effective ways to avoid these negative effects,
Ueki stressed the need of physical exercise andnutrition. He explained: "It is known that vitamins
E and C and folic acid which are contained in large
amount in vegetables and fruit have preventiveeffects. The only food item other than vegetables
and fruit having similar effects is ﬁsh." Many data
have been presented regarding unsaturated fatty
acid contained in fish, and this acid is attracting
attention recently from many sectors of medical
studies including Alzheimer's, intestine-relateddiseases and respiratory diseases.
Ueki encouraged the participants to eat ﬁsh inits entirety from which nutrients, such as ﬁsh oil,protein, calcium, vitamin B group and taurin, canbe consumed.
Following the lecture, a muscle training seminar
was given by Ms. Yumi Tezuka, a well-known
fitness trainer and instructor. She reported thatfalling down, which is the third largest cause of
the bed-ridden status, has tripled during the past
two decades, and introduced training methods tostrengthen the large muscles running from thelumbar spine through the groin.
After the training session, Prof. Hiramitsu Suzukiof Kagawa Nutrition University lectured on possible
effects of fish oil intake on metabolic factors
based on the preliminary results of the survey heconducted in Tokyo.
In the survey, participants
were asked, without being informed, to choose
between fish oil capsules and placebo capsules
not containing fish oil, and to take them for theduration of three months.
As a result, the blood pressure and blood sugar
levels of the participants did not show conspicuous
differences from the time before the intake. But,
upon examining blood plasma lipid, it was foundthat cholesterol and neutral fat tended to lower inthe group of partipants consuming ﬁsh oil. As there
was variation depending on the test subjects, thevariation rates among individuals were compared,
and signiﬁcant difference was observed in neutral
fat, although no statistically signiﬁcant difference
was seen in cholesterol.
Among the subjects who consumed placebo
capsules, increase of neutral fat was observed insix, while, among those who consumed ﬁsh oil, six
out of eight having higher neutral fat of 150mg/dl
showed decrease in neutral fat.
Suzuki analyzed that "it became clear that ﬁsh oil
has the effects of lowering neutral fat and improveliver functions. There is a possibility of bloodpressures to be lowered by ﬁsh oil much later. It isalso considered that blood sugar level will decline,
contributing to preventing or improving metabolic
syndrome." "I think it is safe to say that frequentintake of fish will help reduce the dangerous
factors conducive to metabolic syndrome," Suzuki
said.

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