Silviase/jgov_v1.4_full_ann huggingface dataset:
## I ntroduction

An annual report on the trends of the Japanese fisheries is prepared by the government to report new developments in the industry to the Diet under the Basic Law on the Fisheries Policy, which was established in 2001. The publication of the report is expected to explain the fisheries policy to people engaged in fishery administration or the fisheries industry and also to deepen the understanding of the general public about the fisheries.

In an effort to improve the style of this report, we started it with an article titled “Topics: Major Developments in the Fisheries in the Previous Year” and dedicated Chapter I to a special feature. Moreover, we have done our best to present the paper in clear and simple language to make it easier to read.

The opening article titled “Topics” introduces readers to five major developments in the fisheries in the previous year including the use of a list of officially approved tuna fishing ships to prevent illegal fishing activities.

Chapter I includes a special feature titled “The world’s supply and demand for fishery products and changes in the consumption of fishery products in Japan,” which firstly summarizes the world’s supply and demand for fishery products and then explains how Japan’s consumption of fishery products affects the world’s supply and demand.

In recent years, fisheries trade has become an increasingly important topic in international negotiations under WTO and bilateral negotiations for FTA. With an increase in imported fishery products sold in Japan, people have become more interested in receiving information about these products. Japan, which used to be the world's largest exporter in value of fishery products, has become the largest importer of fishery products both in value and volume. The fishery products imported and consumed by Japan are affected by the trends in the world's supply and demand for these products, while the trends in Japan's consumption of fishery products, in return, affect the world's supply and demand for these products. In this way, Japan and the world's fisheries markets have a close correlation with each other. As fisheries resources are limited natural resources that will be exhausted without proper management, Japan needs to make efforts to promote the sustainable use of the resources through proper conservation and management not only for domestically produced fishery products but also for imported fishery products.

Chapter II describes the developments in the Japan’s fisheries from FY 2002 including Japan’s supply and demand for fishery products, international developments
surrounding Japan’s fisheries, and fishery business management.
Topics: Major Developments in the Fisheries in the Previous Year

1. Use of the positive list to prevent illegal tuna fishing

Regarding frozen bluefin tuna, frozen bigeye tuna, and frozen swordfish, Japan has required, since November 2003, these products to be checked whether each of them has been caught by a fishing vessel included in the positive list, and also whether each of these products is in compliance with other conditions in order to be imported to Japan. The positive list is a list of fishing vessels officially approved by a relevant regional fishery management organization.

The sustainable use of tuna resources requires cooperation among many countries because they migrate throughout the world's Oceans, has and they have been internationally managed by regional fishery management organizations, each of which has been established to cover different oceans such as Atlantic Ocean or Indian Ocean.

However, it has been reported that some vessels simply register with countries that have neither participated in nor extended cooperation to any regional fishery management organization in order to engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, elimination of which is on urgent problem to be solved immediately. We have identified countries that let such fishing activities undermine the international management regime of tuna resources and have restricted imports of tuna products from those countries. We have also requested importers to refrain from trading tuna caught by any ship on a list of IUU fishing vessels.

Despite these measures, IUU fishing vessels have reportedly continued their fishery operations by frequently changing the nationality and name of vessels.

As the world’s largest consumer of sashimi tuna (sliced raw tuna), Japan plays an extremely important role in promoting the sustainable use of tuna resources in the world. We need to fulfill the responsibilities as a tuna fishing and consuming country and take the initiative in cracking down on IUU fishing.

Therefore, the positive list scheme has been implemented to prohibit any import of tuna unless it is confirmed to have been caught by a fishing vessel listed on the positive list and also to be in line with other conditions.
Flow of the Positive List Scheam
### 2. Outbreaks of Koi Herpes

From mid-October 2003, cultured carp died in large numbers in Kasumigaura Lake and Kitaura Lake. An investigation showed that this was the first case of mass infection of the Koi Herpes Virus (KHV) in Japan.

KHV is a fish disease unique to carp, which has been recently discovered. The virus is not contagious to any other species of fish other than carp and has no effect on people who have eaten infected fish either. The spread of the disease, which kills the infected corp at a high rate, could cause great damage to aquaculture operators of carp and other associated people. For this reason, it has been designated as one of the diseases $ ^{1} $ under the Law for Ensuring Sustainable Aquaculture Production since June 2003. Under the Law, measures to prevent the spread of the disease (restrictions on transfer of carp and order for incineration of infected carp, etc.) will be taken if a carp infected with the disease is detected. The disease has also become subject to the quarantine system $ ^{2} $ under the Fisheries Resources Protection Law since July 2003.

Since the first outbreak of KHV, KHV-infected carp have been discovered in 23 prefectures as of the end of January 2004. Although the virus has not caused significant damage except for in the cases in Kasumigaura and Kitaura, further efforts are being made to realize early detection and infection prevention in order to stop further spread of the disease.

In Japan, carp has long been a part of regional dietary culture as a nutritious food. The fish has also been used for ornamental purposes. In order to protect such an important species, more efforts will be made to promote studies and research that will contribute to developing effective prevention measures.
KHV observed by electron microscope (the diameter of the hexagonal structure is about 100 nanometers) (1 nm=1/10 billion meter)
### 3. The world's first successful artificial production of elver

In July 2003, the National Research Instituto of Aquaculture of Fisheries Research Agency (Incorporated Administrative Agency) announced its unprecedented success in artificial production of elver.

Previously artificial seed production technology had advanced to such an extent that it was possible to raise wild-caught elvers to the adult stage and have them spawn, and then raise the hatched pre-leptocephalus to leptocephalus (willow leaf-shaped eel larvae). The technology, however, always fell just one step short of succeeding in raising the leptocephalus to elver stage. One of the reasons for the failure was that we did not know what leptocephalus ate in their natural environment.

Recent marine research activities have revealed eel spawn in the sea area east of the Philippines. Unfortunately, researchers have only been able to capture leptocephalus and have been unable to find adult eel, fertilized eggs, or pre-leptocephalus.

In most cases, artificial seed production is conducted with reference to the life of the species concerned in nature. A large part of the life of eels, however, has not been revealed. We therefore had to make assumptions based on fragmentary data about eels through a process of trial and error. This time, we improved the breeding method and saw 50-60mm-sized leptocephalus aged 230 to 260 days start the metamorphosis into elver over a period of about 20 days.

Today’s aquaculture of eel depends completely on wild-caught elver. As a result, the production of eel is greatly affected by the amount of catches of elver. Aquaculture operators of eel have therefore strongly hoped to develop the artificial seed production technology for eels that would enable them to complete the lifecycle of eels from eggs to the adult stage in an aquaculture environment. It has been proven that the elver bred by the artificial seed production technology grow well and can be used as seeds for aquaculture. The next step is to establish mass-production technology applicable to elver.
(Photograph 1)

(Scale: 10 mm)

(Photograph 2)

(Photograph 1) The metamorphosis of leptocephali into elvers cultivated by artificial seed production technology (a series of photographs of the same leptocephalus aged 250-270 days),

(Photograph 2) An eel reared by artificial seed production technology (about 20 cm in total length).
4. Measures taken in the field of fisheries to promote the comprehensive strategy “Biomass Nippon”

In pursuit of affluence and convenience of our life, we have depended heavily on fossil fuels such as coal and oil for our livelihood. Such a lifestyle has created a social system of mass-production, mass-consumption, and mass-disposal, causing various problems including global warming, accumulating waste and hazardous substances.

In order to reduce the amount of waste and make effective use of resources, we have to transform our society to a recycling-oriented society. For the transformation, the use of biomass (re-usable organic materials derived from plants or animals excluding fossil fuels) is important. In order to promote biomass use, the government adopted the “Biomass Nippon” strategy at a cabinet meeting in December 2002 and implemented related measures.

In the fisheries industry, some people have started recycling large qualities of shells of scallops and oysters, which are usually thrown away as waste by aquaculture operators, as a resource to build artificial fish reefs and also to treat waste water by using their function as simple and effective filtering material to reduce the levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in waste water.

While most shells of crabs and shrimps used to be discarded as waste, people now use chitin and chitosan contained in the shells as a resource for various products such as healthy foods, artificial skin, and soil enrichment.

While the use of fishery biomass is still in the beginning stage, it is steadily expanding. In the future, we hope to discover more ways of using today's wastes as beneficial for our lives.

Artificial fish reefs made from seashells that used to be discarded as waste (Akitsu-cho, Hiroshima Prefecture)
5. New round of negotiations at the WTO : The results of the WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun

WTO Ministerial Conference in Cancun (Opening ceremony: Photograph from the WTO website)

At the 4th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in November 2001, a new round of WTO negotiations was started with the deadline for the conclusion of the negotiations set on January 1, 2005. In September 2003, the 5th WTO Ministerial Conference was held in Cancun, Mexico, in order to discuss the interim results of the negotiations.

Regarding fisheries and fishery products, participants in the WTO meetings discussed such problems as fisheries subsidies and hindrances limiting market accessibility such as tariffs on fishery products, the last of which has been handled by the Negotiating Group on Market Access for Non-Agricultural Products. In May 2003, the chairperson of the Negotiating Group proposed that fishery products should be subject to the negotiations for sectoral tariff removal. In the Cancun Ministerial Conference and its preparatory meetings however, negotiations were conducted mostly on a tariff reduction method and sectoral tariff removal and not on any specific sector or product item. The last Ministerial Conference ended without reaching any agreement because the gap between developed countries and developing countries remains wide open in terms of a stance toward the so-called Singapore Issues (four issues: investment, competition, trade facilitation, and transparency in government procurement). At the Ministerial Conference, no negotiations were conducted on fisheries subsidies.

Japan will continue to make utmost efforts to advocate the sustainable use of fishery resources and stress the importance of consideration for the roles of fishing villages.
With regard to tariffs, we will do our best to prevent fishery products from being subject to negotiations for sectoral tariff removal and to make a tariff reduction method to be desirable for Japanese fishery products.
I Special Feature: The world’s supply and demand for fishery products and changes in the consumption of fishery products in Japan

### 1. The world’s supply and demand for fishery products

The volume of world’s production of fishery products has almost doubled in the past 30 years, having reached about 130 million tons. The volume would be around 140 million tons if seaweed (seagrass) was included.

Catches all over the world leveled off in the 1990s. While the production volume of marine bottom fish which includes crustaceans, mollusks such as shellfish, and freshwater fish such as carp has been stagnant, aquaculture production has increased.

Japan, the U.S., Canada, EU (15), and the former USSR, which accounted for more than 40% of the world's fishery production in volume 30 years ago, now account for less than 20% these days. On the other hand, developing countries have increased their presence. In particular, China has come to account for about one third of the world's fishery production in volume in recent years.

Data about the supply and demand for seafood in each region shows that China as well as the developed region including EU, North America, and Japan are large net importers, whereas South America is the major net exporter (Figure I-1).

(Regional differences in supply and demand)

Data on the production and supply of fishery products in major regions shows regional differences in terms of production volume and supply volume for consumption per person, and popular fish species (Figure I-2).

In EU, for example, major fish species for human consumption are marine bottom fish such as cod. Net imports have increased as the domestic production volume has decreased due to deterioration of the resource level in the surrounding waters.

In North America (the U.S. and Canada), a sufficient amount of marine bottom fish is produced for domestic consumption, although the net imports of crustacean such as shrimp is still high.

In China, the supply amount of seafood for human consumption per person has increased fivefold since the early 1980s. The increase was due mainly to a rise in the production of shellfish as well as fresh water fish such as carp, the aquaculture production of which has increased significantly.
In Japan, the supply of seafood for human consumption per person is larger than that of any other region. The consumption of seafood far exceeds the domestic production volume.

Figure I-1 Fishery Production and Consumption in Major Regions in the World (Comparison between the average for 1989-1991 and that for 1999-2001)

Source: “Food Balance Sheets,” FAO Note:

1) The figures for fish and seafood (excluding seaweed and seagrass) were used.

2) The supply volume for consumption was calculated by subtracting the exports from the sum of the production volume and imports. Therefore, the calculation result reflects neither an increase nor decrease in the inventory.

3) The net imports were calculated by subtracting exports from imports. If the calculation result is negative, it is stated as net exports.

4) The figure for China is deemed to include the figures for Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Figure I - 2 Domestic Production Volume and Supply Volume of Seafood per Person (the average for 1999 - 2001)

### 2. Increase in fishery product trade and its trends in recent years

## (Increase in fishery product trade)

The world’s fishery product trade has increased with a rise in the demand for fishery products and also in the production volume of fisheries and aquaculture. The trade volume of fishery products accounts for about 30 to 40% of the total production volume on an original fish weight basis (38% in 2001). In 2001, the fishery product trade stood at about US$60 billion in value and about 27 million tons (import basis) in product weight.

EU, North America, and Japan are the three largest importing countries and regions, accounting for most of the world's imports (Figure I-3).

In all these three areas, the most imported fish species in value are shrimp, tuna,
salmon and trout, and crabs. In addition, EU imports a lot of marine bottom fish such as cod, while North America buys a great amount of crustacean such as shrimp and crabs from foreign countries. In Japan, the most imported fish species in value are shrimp followed by tuna, salmon and trout, and crabs.

## (Trends in recent years)

While the three areas (Japan, North America, and EU) remain the largest importers, the proportion of their imports to the world's total imports has been decreasing. On the other hand, other countries and regions have been increasing their presence as importers in the world.

China, which has seen its imports increase in recent years, was the world’s second largest importer in volume only after Japan in 2000 and 2001 and was the world’s largest importer of fish meal. Fish meal for non-human consumption accounted for 40% of the total import of fishery products to China in 2001.

According to the Chinese Fisheries Yearbook, China, which has also seen its imports of fishery products for human consumption increase. However, about two thirds of the total volume of imported fishery products (1.41 million tons) excluding fish meal were imported from such countries and regions as Russia, the U.S., EU, and Japan in 2001, and exported after being processed in China under outsourcing processing agreements with these countries and region.

According to data on the world’s fishery and aquaculture production of major fish species, the volume of aquaculture production of shrimp as well as salmon and trout has increased (Figure I-4). In particular, large-scale aquaculture production of salmon and trout has increased in the 1990s mainly for the purpose of exporting them.

While the production of tuna mainly depends on fishery catches, there has been an increase in the trade volume of tuna cultured in Australia, Mediterranean countries, and other countries.
Figure I-3 Major Flows of Imports in the World's Fishery Product Trade

Source: “Yearbook of Fishery Statistics (Commodities) 2001- Trade Flow by Region (Imports)-,” FAO Information about the value of imports to Japan and the countries exporting to Japan was derived from the “Trade Statistics” issued by the Ministry of Finance.

Note: 1) The imports to Japan in yen were converted into US dollars at 113.91 yen (1999), 107.77 yen (2000), and 121.53 yen (2001) to a US dollar.

2) The circles and accompanying figures in the above map indicate the value of imports (in US$100 millions) from other regions (calculated by subtracting the imports of the countries within the regions from the total imports of all regions).

3) The arrows and accompanying figures in the above map indicate the exporting countries and amounts (in US$100 millions). Any export less than $500 million is not indicated by an arrow and is included in the amount from "Others and (unspecified) countries."

4) The imports to China are deemed to include those to Hong Kong and Taiwan. The exports from China to Japan also include those from Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Figure I-4 Fishery and Aquaculture Production of Shrimp, etc., in the World

Source: “FISHSTAT (Capture production 1950-2001) and (Aquaculture production 1950-2001),” FAO
### 3. Changes in the consumption and trade of fishery products in Japan

(Characteristics of the fishery product trade of Japan)

In 1976 (in the following year, the U.S. and the former USSR established 200-mile fishing zones), Japan was the world's largest exporter of fishery products in value (ranked fourth in volume). Exports have declined both in value and volume since the late 1980s mainly because Japan has lost its competitive edge due to a decrease in material fish in volume and a rise in the exchange rate of the yen.

On the other hand, the imports of fishery products to Japan have kept increasing to meet the rising demand for shrimp and other seafood and also to substitute for decreasing domestic products due to the withdrawal of Japanese fishing vessels from foreign 200-mile fishing zones. The imports to Japan grew very rapidly from 1985, when the Plaza Accord altering foreign exchange rates were established, to the mid-1990 (Figure I-5).

While the pace of increase somewhat slowed down in the late 1990s, the imports to Japan ( $ ¥1,762.2 $ billion, 3.82 million tons) was ten times larger than the exports from Japan ( $ ¥136.5 $ billion, 310,000 tons) in 2002. Japan is now the largest importer of fishery products, both in value and volume, accounting for 23% in value or 14% in volume of the world's total imports in 2001.

The sustainable use of fishery resources and aquaculture production depends largely on the way Japan consumes fishery products. Japan has taken part in implementing international measures against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing of tuna for sustainable use of world tuna resources.

## (Recent trends)

As the lifestyle of Japanese people has changed, household food consumption expenses spent on eating out and buying prepared foods has increased, whereas expenses spent on purchasing seafood has been in a decreasing trend.

These days, consumers mainly buy fishery products at supermarkets. Business consumers and major mass merchandisers play more important roles at the end of the distribution network of fishery products. Such market order stable volume of fishery products from suppliers in conformity with certain specifications at a stable price and deliver them regularly. Increasing severe price competition has allowed market to demand even lower prices.

China is the largest exporter of fishery products to Japan, accounting for 18% of the
total imports to Japan both in value and volume in 2002. The imports of fishery products from China to Japan have increased in volume and also the proportion of processed or prepared food items such as fillets and prepared meals has increased (Figure I-6).

The same trend is seen in the imports from Thailand and Vietnam, etc., which reflects the efforts of Japanese companies to reduce production costs by outsourcing the task of preparing and processing fishery products to other countries where personnel costs and other costs are much lower compared to Japan.

With the intensification of competition in the restaurant industry and the retail industry, companies in these industries buy fishery products from any supplier, regardless of its nationality, that are able to provide the requested items and required quality at a favorable price, contributing to further globalization of the Japanese market for fishery products.

Under these circumstances, Japan has many challenges to tackle to ensure the healthy development of its fisheries industry in the future. First of all, it is important to address the growing public concern about food safety and reliability by taking effective measures. Moreover, further efforts must be made to add more value to fishery products and also to decrease its operating cost in order to meet the expectations of consumers and also to increase the competitiveness of Japanese fishery products on a global basis.
Figure I-5 Value and Volume of Fishery Products Imported to Japan and Exchange Rate

Source: “Trade Statistics,” Ministry of Finance, “Financial and Economic Statistics,” Bank of Japan