181

Biodiversity and Fisheries Resource Management in the Satoumi
Hiroyuki MATSUDA1*, Mitsutaku MAKINO2 and Minoru TOMIYAMA3
1

Faculty of Environment and Information Sciences, Yokohama National University
79-7 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama 240-8501, Japan
2
National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, Fisheries Research Agency, Yokohama, Japan
3
Chita Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Office, Aichi Prefectural Government, Aichi, Japan*e-mail: matsuda@ynu.ac.jp

Abstract
Japanese fisheries are characterized by (1) having a large proportion of artisanal fisheries, (2) establishing territorial user rights in fisheries (TURFs) by local fisheries cooperative associations (FCAs), (3) being
one of the largest national fisheries in the world, and (4) using a variety of resources, from plankton-feeders to
top predators, from sea urchin to marine mammals. The marine trophic index (MTI), the average trophic levelof fisheries catches, has varied from ca. 3.1 in 1990 to ca. 3.6 in 1960 and 2000. There are many autonomous
marine protected areas (MPAs) in Japanese coastal waters. Most of these MPAs are not legally regulated, but
managed by the associated FCAs. MPAs are established or expanded when the major fisheries resources are
depleted. In the case of Shiretoko, in northern Japan, a seasonal fishing-ban area for walleye pollock was
established in 1994 because its stock was depleted. The MPA was extended according to the advice of the
Scientific Council of the Shiretoko World Heritage Site in 2005. After that, Shiretoko was designated a
UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site. The marine management plan for the Shiretoko World Heritage Sitecompiles the catches and yields of fisheries in the Shiretoko area, which are used for assessment of thefisheries’ sustainability. Even at Japanese World Heritage Sites, we seek a balance between sustainable use ofbioresources and conservation of biodiversity, instituting UNESCO’s Man and the Biosphere (MAB)
Program.
Key words: co-management, fisheries cooperative associations, marine protected area, Shiretoko World
Heritage, yield per catch

1. Introduction“Satoumi” was first defined by Yanagi (2007) as “acoastal area with high productivity and biodiversity withhuman interaction.” United Nations University Instituteof Advanced Studies (UNU-IAS) (2011) describedseveral examples of satoumi in Japan. We also know
several examples of sustainable resource use in coastal
areas of the world. In Chile, for example, a co-management policy grants exclusive territorial user rights forfisheries (TURFs) to artisanal fisher organizations inwell-defined inshore coastal areas (Matsuda et al., 2010).
These areas are known as Management and Exploitation
Areas for Benthic Resources (MEABRs). MEABRs
encourage sustainable use, like satoumi areas. Species
diversity and abundance of target species are enhanced in
MEABRs compared to outside of MEABRs (Gelcich
et al., 2008). It is noted that biodiversity in these areas isno higher than in no-take zones (Castilla et al., 2010).
Japanese satoumi areas are characterized by fisheries
co-management. This is achieved by the government,
fishers, local scientists and citizens (Matsuda et al., 2010).
Global Environmental Research
16/2012: 181-187
printed in Japan

In this paper, we introduce the role of co-management at
the Shiretoko World Heritage Site and the effects ofcoastal fisheries co-management on biodiversity andsustainable resource use. We also discuss how to assess
and manage coastal ecosystems.

2. World Natural Heritage and the Role ofCo-management at Shiretoko
The Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan,
organized a Scientific Council (SC) to advise the processof nominating Shiretoko as a World Natural Heritage Site.
In the process of reviewing the proposal, International
Union for Conservation of Nature and National
Resources (IUCN) requested the government of Japan torecommend stronger conservation measures for themarine ecosystem and to investigate the effects of dams
on wild salmon populations. The SC voluntarily compiled a document advising the government on how to
respond, recommending additional mitigation of river
structures and further marine conservation efforts. The
government did not incorporate this advice into its reply©2012 AIRIES182

H. MATSUDA et al.

Fig. 1 Map of fishing ground of walleye pollock in Shiretoko. Grids numberd mean the fishing grounds of walleye pollock
fishery; spawning ground (11, 12, 16), seasonal fishing-ban area since 1995 (4, 8, 11, 14, 23-25) and since 2005 (1-7).

to the IUCN.
The IUCN sent another letter to Japan to explicitly
request expansion of the marine registered area and an
expedited marine management plan. The MOE convened
the SC, which compiled its recommendations and formed
two working groups: the Marine Working Group (hereinafter, Marine WG) and the River Structure Working
Group.
Officials from the MOE and the Hokkaido Prefectural
Government promised the fisheries cooperative associations (FCAs) that the future management plan of theShiretoko World Heritage Site would not include
fisheries regulation. The SC acknowledged the conventional efforts of fishers to voluntarily regulate theirfishing efforts (Makino et al., 2009).
Based on the SC’s advice, the MOE agreed to themajor points of the second IUCN letter. In addition, theRausu FCA voluntarily expanded its seasonal fishing-ban
area for the 2005 fishing season (Fig. 1). The contributionof fishers to the review process for the Shiretoko World
Heritage Site was indispensable because they satisfied
the IUCN and UNESCO requests to increase the level ofmarine ecosystem conservation. Accordingly, UNESCO
accepted Shiretoko as a World Natural Heritage Site in2005 (Makino et al., 2012).
In 2008, in its report on the reactive monitoring, theIUCN applauded the bottom-up approach to management
through the involvement of local communities and local
stake-holders, and the way in which scientific knowledge
had been effectively applied to the management of theproperty through the SC that had been set up. It praised
this approach as “an excellent model for the managementof Natural World Heritage Sites elsewhere.” In 2010, theInternational Association for the Study of the Commons
selected this example as one of its Six Impact Stories of
the world.
The creation of marine protected areas is not a goal ofmarine conservation but one of the effective methods.

Fig. 2 Fishermen and their families plant trees and maintainsecondary forests in their backyards. The flags of afisheries cooperative association stand in the forest(photo by Dr. Minoru Tomiyama, Aichi Prefecture).

Extension of the fishing ban area during nomination of
the Shiretoko World Heritage Site is an example ofJapanese fisheries autonomous co-management, without
top-down control by the government (Matsuda et al.,2010; Makino, 2012).
Yagi et al. (2010) collected information on the locations and areas of all marine protected areas (MPAs) inJapan. They verified that at least 1,161 MPAs existed inJapan. More than 30% of the individual MPAs in Japan
were established by self-imposed instruments agreed onby members of fishery co-management organizations. In
Principle 6 of the Aichi Target approved by COP10, thedefinition of MPAs included community-based MPAs.
Japanese fishers and their families have made apoint of planting backyard forests. These are called“uotsukirin” in Japanese, which means “fish-breeding
forest” (Fig. 2). Despite the lack of full scientificevidence on how forests improve ecosystem processes infishing grounds, it is a traditional practice of ecosystem

Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Satoumi

183

management among Japanese fisheries. Recently, Japanese scientists have investigated the contribution of theAmur River basin to the high productivity of the Okhotsk
Sea (Shiraiwa, 2011; Matsuda, 2011).

3. Biodiversity in Fisheries Products ofShiretoko World Heritage Site

Fig. 3 The total catch amounts, total yields, Shannon’s
diversity indices, and marine trophic indices offisheries in the Shiretoko World Heritage area.

Matsuda et al., (2009) analyzed the ratio of yield percatch, Yi(t)/Ci(t), for each fisheries resource in each year.
Hereafter we call this indicator YPC. Because Japanesefisheries cooperative associations compile the annual
yield and catch of each of their fisheries resources, we
can analyze YPC from these data.
Hokkaido Prefecture compiles catch statistics foreach species or taxa in the Shiretoko World Heritage Siteevery year. Ci(t) and Yi(t) denote the catch amount andyield, respectively, of species i in year t. Using these data,
Fig. 3 shows the total catch amount C(t), yield Y(t),Shannon’s diversity index I(t) and the marine trophic
index M(t); which are given byC(t) = ∑ C i (t ) ,iY(t) = ∑ Yi (t ) ,i

C (t )⎛ C (t ) ⎞I(t) = − ∑ Ci(t ) log 2 ⎜⎜ Ci(t ) ⎟⎟ ,
⎝

i

⎠

and
C i (t )M(t) = ∑ α i C (t )iFig. 4 The fisheries yields of thirteen major species in the
Shiretoko area.

respectively, where αi is the trophic level of species i.
The trophic level of fish species i is obtained by
FISHBASE <http://www.fishbase.org/search.php>.

Fig. 5 Catch amounts of the thirteen major species at the Shiretoko site (updated from Matsuda et al., 2010).
1: walleye pollock, 2: chum salmon, 3: common squid, 4: Arabesque greenling, 5: chinock salmon, 6: Pacific cod, 7:
scallops, 8: kelp, 9: bighand thornyhead, 10: Octopus dolfleini, 11: flounder, 12: Neptunea polycostata, 13: sardines.

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H. MATSUDA et al.

The biodiversity index in the 1980s was lower than
2.0 because the catch of walleye pollock was very large(see Fig. 5). The biodiversity index increased in 1992,
and gradually decreased during 1993-2008. The total
yield did not change significantly, but the major resources have changed from decade to decade. Chumsalmon Oncorhynchus keta and walleye pollock
Theragra chalcogramma are two major fisheries resources at Shiretoko. The largest yield resource changed
in 1993 from walleye pollock to chum salmon (Fig. 4).
The reasons walleye pollock decreased and chum salmon
increased at the Shiretoko site are probably independent.
The walleye pollock stock decreased partly because of
Russian trawl fisheries (Mori et al., 2012). The chumsalmon stock increased probably because of artificial
hatching and stocking (Saitoh & Watanabe, 2012).
Matsuda et al. (2009) showed that the marine trophic
index (MTI) in the Shiretoko area did not change
significantly.
Catch statistics data supply detailed information on
the marine ecosystem status because coastal fishers exploit many species and compile catch and yield amountsof each bioresource (Makino et al., 2009). Japanesefisheries are characterized by high diversity in catchamounts, a very high percentage of artisanal fishers, anda high MTI (Makino & Matsuda, 2011). In the Shiretoko
World Heritage area, the catch amount of eachbioresource and MTI did not significantly decrease, except for a few species. The reason for the decline in catchamounts of some species, such as sardines in the 1980s,
and Neptunea polycostata, scallops and walleye pollock
during the mid 1990s to 2000s, is attributable to naturalfluctuations, and trends in catch amounts in other areas
showed similar patterns (Fig. 5). If fishers cannot explain
the reasons for decreasing catch amounts of some species,
the sustainability of fisheries in this area is suspect(Matsuda et al., 2010).
MTI for Japanese fisheries was as high as 3.6 in theearly 1970s, while it was less than 3.1 in 1990, andreached 3.6 in 2005, as shown in Fig. 6. The reason it wasless than 3.1 in 1990 was because of the catch amount ofsardines. The trophic level of sardines is ca. 3.0 because
sardines are plankton-feeders. MTI is not a good indicator of sustainable fisheries (Matsuda et al., 2010; Branch
et al., 2010).
YPC is a simple screening indicator of average bodysize, because the fish price per weight for many species
decreases with decreasing body weight. There are several
species that show significant decadal reduction in catchamounts. Most of these species, e.g., sardines, decreased
due to natural decadal changes in stock abundance. Someof these species, e.g., snow crabs, decreased due toregulation of fishing impact and the price per unit weightincreased. Therefore, YPC is a better indicator for sustainable fisheries than the catch amount. There are still a
few species that show significant decadal reductions in
YPC.
YPC of each species in the Shiretoko area is shown

Fig. 6 The total catch amounts and marine trophic indices (MTI) of Japanese fisheries(Matsuda et al., 2010; JBO, 2010).

Biodiversity and Fisheries in the Satoumi

185

Fig. 7 Yield per catch (YPC) of major fisheries resources at the Shiretoko site.

in Fig. 7. Some species showed significantly decreased
YPC, such as pink salmon, Eleginus gracillis,
Hippoglossoides pinetorum, and Pleuronectes punctatissimus. The price of pink salmon decreased not because its
body size decreased but because its stock increased
during these few decades.

4. Discussion
Japanese waters are known as one of the richest regions in the world in terms of marine biodiversity(Fujikura et al., 2010). This is probably because Japanesewaters in the economic exclusive zone include warm andcool currents, coral reefs, seasonal sea ice, coasts anddeep-sea trenches, and they constitute one of the mostintensively surveyed regions. Sustainable coastal fisheries may prevent significant loss of Japanese coastal
biodiversity. However, the Japan Biodiversity Outlook
Scientific Committee (JBO) (2010) and Japanese
Satoyama-Satoumi Assessment (2010) reported significant degradation of coral reefs, sea grass beds and tidelands along Japan’s coasts.
Japanese coastal ecosystems are characterized by thesatoumi, which is widely used by fisheries. Activities in
the Japanese satoumi are variable among sites, from
Shiretoko to Ishigaki Island (UNU-IAS 2011, Makino2012). The Scientific Council of the Shiretoko World
Heritage Site drew a food web graph of the marine ecosystem of the Shiretoko World Heritage Site. The food
web includes brown bears and eagles, because theyutilize salmon and other fish. A large part of the species
in the food web are utilized by fisheries or hunters.
Exceptions include phytoplankton, zooplankton, starfish,
polychaetes and sea birds. Although jellyfish are notshown in the food web, I believe jellyfish exist in thisarea and are rarely used in Japan. Fishers use these resources and compile catch and yield statistics for eachbioresource, although catches of some species (e.g., chubmackerel and spotted mackerel) are summarized as asingle bioresource in Japanese fisheries statistics. Therefore, we can investigate the status of marine ecosystems
by monitoring the catch and YPC of each bioresource.
Fisheries data do not directly reflect biomass andother characteristics of marine ecosystems, but reflect
those of landed individuals. We need to monitor marine
ecosystems using research vessels. Despite limited
information from fishery statistics, I expect that catch and
YPC are useful as indicators of marine ecosystems. MTI
is calculated from catch statistics, but it is not always agood indicator of marine ecosystems (Branch, 2010). For
not a few species, detailed stock assessments areanalyzed and published by the Fisheries Agency of Japan(e.g., Mori et al., 2012; Saitoh & Watanabe, 2012). We
can assess and monitor the stock and fisheries status ofsardines, chum salmon, walleye pollock, common squidand other resources. We can verify screening methods
using yield and catch data shown here for these major
resources. If catch per unit effort data are available forsome other species, a more detailed analysis is possible.
“Satoumi” is defined as coastal area with high produc-

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tivity and biodiversity with human interaction (Yanagi,2007). At Shiretoko, however, there is no evidence thathuman activities increase marine biodiversity. Some
examples are known, such as Inkachi at Ishigaki Island,in which biodiversity probably increased due to humanactivities (UNU-IAS, 2011). Sustainable fisheries basedon appropriate zoning may eliminate loss of biodiversity
in comparison with unsustainable fisheries (Gelcich et al.,2008).
Marine protected areas are known as a useful methodof preventing overfishing. According to the Chronicles ofJapan, originally published by Imperial Prince Toneri in
720 AD, Emperor Jito established an area where fishing
was banned within 1665 m of the Muko coast in Settsu
County in 689 (Ujiya, 1988). This is the oldest recorded
MPA in Japan. The oldest MPA in the world is considered
to be Royal National Park, Australia, designated in 1879
(James & Banks, 2002). This suggests that Japanesefisheries have an older history of fisheries managementwith fishing-ban areas.
On the other hand, the existence of the oldest MPA
suggests that overfishing has been a big problem from theinception of Japanese history. There were two aspects toEmperor Jito’s decision. First, the establishment of the
MPA in 720 coincided with discouragement of the consumption of animal flesh and development of Buddhism
in Japan. Second, the MPA in 720 protected juvenile fishby prohibiting small mesh sizes in fishing nets. The lattersuggests that the MPA was established not only to discouraging carnivorism.
MPAs are defined as areas surrounded by evident
boundaries that are legally managed or otherwise subject
to effective measures adjusted to their form of usage forthe purpose of conservation of biodiversity, supporting
the integrity of the structures and functions of marine
ecosystems and conservation and sustainable use of
ecosystem services (Ministry of the Environment, Japan,2011).
Most MPAs in Japan are not legally regulated. IUCN
defined MPAs as satisfying one of six categories (Dudley,2008). These include MPAs that are determined by local
communities. At the 10th Meeting for the Conferenceof Parties (COP10) to the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD), the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity
2011-2020 (Aichi Target) prescribed target ratios of protected areas by 2020 of 17% for terrestrial and 10% formarine and coastal ecosystems. It also allowed forcommunity-based protected areas but did not give an
explicit definition of MPAs.
Unlike fisheries in most modern countries, there isneither centralised nor top-down management in traditional fisheries in Japan. Although Japan was modernisedin the late 19th century, the country still has a decentralised co-management system, involving fishers and thegovernment, as well as many artisanal fishers (Makino &Matsuda, 2011). Decentralization is encouraged in the
Twelve Principles of the Ecosystem Approach that wasapproved at COP5 of CBD in 2000. Why did fishers at
Shiretoko choose to extend the seasonal fishing-ban arearather than accept further regulation by the government?
In the latter case, the government would have had to pay
some compensation to the fishers, whereas the fishers
received no compensation under the voluntary MPA
extension.
I introduced the custom of planting fish-breeding
forests as an example of ecosystem management. There
are several items that may contribute to ecosystem management in Japan’s satoumi: planting fish-breeding forests, voluntary MPA definition, agreement on fishingseasons, establishment of fishing zone by fisheries cooperative associations, encouraging artisanal fisheries,
and prohibition of highly technical fishing gear.
However, coastal fisheries are threatened by industrialization, globalization, depopulation, ageing and technical innovation. It is difficult to convince fishers of theneed for sustainable fisheries if their children or colleagues are not succeeding them in fishery. World Heritage status definitely encourages coastal fisheries at
Shiretoko. We need to establish ways of maintaining andenhancing coastal fisheries where they are not supported
from the outside.

Acknowledgments
This work was supported by the Environmental
Research and Technology Development Fund of the
Ministry of the Environment, Japan (E-0902). This work
was supported by the Environmental Research andTechnology Development Fund of the Ministry of theEnvironment, Japan (E-0902). We are deeply grateful to
A. Nakandakari, R. Takishita, A. Takashima for their
help.
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187
Hiroyuki MATSUDA

Dr. Hiroyuki MATSUDA is a Professor at
Yokohama National University. His research encompasses studies of adaptive wildlife management and fisheries co-management, risk analysis
and game theory. He proposed “target switching,”
a novel multi-species species management
strategy. He has been a Pew Marine Conservation
Fellow since 2007. He received the 10th Ecological Society of Japan
Award in 2012. He is President of the East Asian Federation of EcologicalSocieties.

Mitsutaku MAKINO
Dr. Mitsutaku MAKINO is Head of the Fisheries
Management Group of the Fisheries Research
Agency, Japan. His research is based on legal andeconomic analysis of fisheries and ecosystem-based management. In 2011, he published abook titled, Fisheries Management in Japan: Its
Institutional Features and Case Studies, publishedby Springer, which covers institutional history, case studies from subarctic
to tropical areas, and future scenarios for fisheries management in Japan.
He is a member of many international academic programs such as the
PICES Section on Human Dimensions (Chair), ICES Journal of Marine
Science (Editor), IMBER Human Dimension Working Groups, IUCN
Fisheries Expert Group, and others.

Minoru TOMIYAMA
Dr. Minoru TOMIYAMA leads the Fisheries
Management Group of the Fisheries Section
Chita Office, Aichi Prefecture. He is a resident
researcher and one of his main research themes ismanagement of sandeel fisheries. He is working
to innovate its fisheries management systemthrough adaptive co-management, utilizing
information from fishers’ knowledge and experience.

(Received 14 May 2012, Accepted 23 July 2012)