ISARIBI NO.82

ISSN1346-2512

ISARIBIJapanFisheries
Association Fishing Fire

漁火NO.82, SEPT. 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

Seafood safety

Rigorous radioactive monitoring ensuressafety of seafood in Japan's disaster area

Leakage of radioactive contaminated waterfrom the crippled Fukushima Nuclear
Power Plant as well as rootless negative
rumors on fishery products in the disaster area
are imposing immeasurable additional damage
on fishermen and fishing communities seriously
affected by the Eastern Japan Great Earthquake
and Tsunami that devastated the Pacific coasts
of northern Japan in March 2011.
Fishermen in Fukushima have managed toexpand the scale of experimental fishing insome area with painful efforts amid general
constraints, but the problem of leakage ofpolluted water from the reactor into the sea
has not yet fully settled. Some countries are
reinforcing their restrictions on the imports ofseafood from Japan. An overall embargo has
been imposed on fish landed in broader area ofJapan including the prefectures directly affectedby the disaster, regardless of whether or notradioactive substances are found in the fish
landed in those areas.
Thoroughgoing monitoring and provisionof accurate information to consumers areindispensable to dissipate negative rumors
related to the accident of the nuclear powerreactor. Regarding the excessive actions
not based on scientific findings, we should
continue efforts to explain extensively about themeasures that have been taken by the Japanese
government so as to gain understanding of
the importing countries that safety in seafood

distribution is fully ensured in Japan.
The Japan Fisheries Association (JFA), on
its part, has been explaining about the safetyof Japanese seafood at private-level fisheries
meetings with the Republic of Korea, China andTaiwan and other international fisheries fora likethe International Coalition of Fisheries Associations( I C FA ) a n d t h e U. N . Fo o d a n d A g r i c u l t u r e
Organization (FAO). It also took part in seafood
exhibitions in Korea and China to publicize theseafood safety.
Immediately after the earthquake and tsunami,
about 50 countries and territories introduced
restrictive measures on imports of seafoodfrom the areas affected by the accident of thenuclear power plant. However, Vietnam, forinstance, which imports bulk of seafood fromJapan, abolished the requirement for samplinginspection of imported Japanese seafood which it
introduced after the disaster. Malaysia also lifted
its restricitons on Japanese seafood in March
2013. A total of 12 countries have by now fully
removed their restrictive requirements on imports.
The European Union (EU) announced that it would
mitigate its import restrictions from April 2014.
Thus, the number of countries that appreciate thesafety of Japanese seafood has been increasing
gradually. Either way, efforts should be continued
to resolve the issues of leakage of contaminatedreactor water and the negative rootless rumor on
Japanese seafood.

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

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Paciﬁc tuna management
Japan proposes reducing catch of immature Paciﬁc blueﬁn tunaby 50% at IATTC meetingT

he members of the Inter-American TropicalTu n a C o m m i s s i o n ( I ATTC ) d i s c u s s e dconservation and management measures
for the eastern Pacific tunas at the 89th annual
meeting in Lima, Peru, July 14-18, 2014.
No agreement was achieved regarding thePacific bluefin tuna as Mexico opposed to theproposal to curtail catch based on the stock
assessment by the International ScientificCommittee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species inthe North Pacific Ocean (ISC) in February. It
was agreed that Japan, the United States andMexico will continue consultations with the aimto achieve a conclusion by around October thisyear.
Currently, there is no catch of bluefin tunaby Japan in the eastern Pacific. Mexico catches

around 5,000 tons a year, making it the largest
harvester of Pacific bluefin tuna only next toJapan.
Mexico's tuna catch rate has been rising inrecent years. In 2012, the country harvested
6 , 3 0 0 t o n s o f t u n a , t h e l a rg e s t a m o u n t
surpassing that of Japan.
Japan has been taking domestic measures,
based on the ISC's recommendation, to reduce
its catch volume of immature tuna to the levelhalf of the annual average in 2002-2004. At
the same time, Japan has developed a policy
to have other tuna fishing countries to halve
their catch of immature tunas. For Japan, thismeeting of IATTC became the first occasion topresent its proposal.
At t he meet ing, Japan proposed: (1)Page 3

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reducing the catch of immature fish (less than20 kg) to half the average annual catch in 20022004 (i.e. from 3,770 tons to 1,885 tons), and(2) maintaining the catch of large-size fish at
the present level (i.e. 1,549 tons). However, noagreement was obtained on this proposal.
The meeting participants agreed to placerecreational fisheries in the U.S.--which had
been exempted from IATTC rules-- under IATTC
management based on Japan's proposal along
the principle that there should be no exception
in stock management. For this reason, it wasagreed that Japan, Mexico and the UnitedStates will continue consultations among them.
IATTC decided to set bluefin tuna catch quota
in the eastern Pacific for this year at 5,000 tons.

MEL Japan
Marine Eco-Label Japan and
its Contribution to SustainableFisheries

Ma s a s h i N i s h i m u ra , t h e M a r i n e E c o Label Japan (or MEL Japan) secretariat,
made a presentation in the 13th World
Tuna Trade Conference hosted by INFOFISH
at Shagri-La Hotel, Bangkok, 21-23 May, 2014.
The following is the manuscript of Nishimura’spresentation. This is one big step to increase
recognition by foreign stake holders and MELJapan plans to further strengthen communication
with foreign public relations.
1. Establishment of MEL Japan
Japanese stakeholders in the fishing industryand fisheries management established their ownecolabelling scheme, Marine
Eco-Label Japan (MEL Japan) in2007. The goal of the scheme
is the promotion of sustainablefisheries through respect for theco-management of fisheries byfisheries communities. After the establishmentof the scheme, we started without restricting
various possibilities. There were questions tobe answered such as, “Are we going to certify
foreign fisheries, certify aquaculture, and export
certified products to foreign countries?” What
we have been doing is to do what we can andwhat we need to do first. So, what we actually
do is certify Japanese fisheries (we do not havePage 4

the capacity to certify foreign fisheries), andcertify wild fisheries. Regarding the export ofcertified products, it is now under preparation. My
participation in this meeting is an important partof such preparation.
2. Basic Framework and Features of MELJapan
The basic framework of MEL Japan is establishedin line with the FAO guidelines. The MEL Japan
standard, therefore, is based upon the good oldthree pillars, namely, that:
1) Fisheries are conducted under an establishedand effective management system;
2) The target stock is maintained at a level thatallows its sustainable utilization;and,3) Appropriate measures are taken for thepreservation of the ecosystem.
MEL Japan is a third party certification scheme
to ensure scientific and objective certification. We
have an independent certification body, the Japan
Fisheries Resource Conservation Association.
We need more bodies, and I hope we will haveanother in the near future.
(This article is presented in two installments. The second
part will be printed in the next issue of ISARIBI)