catches of southern bluefin tuna in view of deteriorating resources. Japan accepted the cut in a bid to make maximum positive contributions to restoration of southern bluefin tuna resources. The CCSBT also introduced vessel-by-vessel catch quotas and enhanced inspections at designated landing ports.

The resources management measures as decided on at the ICCAT and CCSBT are to reduce catches for the immediate future. But they are aimed at restoring resources while continuing to utilize them over a long term. It is important for relevant countries to comply with these regulatory measures.

Taiwan's reduction of tuna catches was strongly requested at the ICCAT and other regional fisheries management organizations. Japan also urged Taiwan to cut tuna catches. As a result, Japan and Taiwan agreed in June 2006 to substantially reduce the number of Taiwanese fishing vessels for catching tuna. This reduction is expected to have a favorable impact on resources.

## (Enhancing management of farmed tuna)

As for purse seines to catch bluefin tuna for farming, it is difficult to identify catches. Management of these catches has thus become a problem at regional fisheries management organizations. In a bid to enhance management of tuna farming, the ICCAT has introduced a positive list system to approve bluefin tuna imports only at officially registered farms. At a meeting in 2006, the ICCAT produced an agreement as arranged by Japan to send neutral observers for checking the volume of tuna put into farming ponds and collect data on tuna deaths between catching and transfer to farming ponds and during farming. The CCSBT agreed that Australia, suspected of underestimating catches for its southern bluefin tuna farming, should verify catches and growth rate.

Through these measures by regional fisheries management organizations, improvements of controls on catches are expected to make progress, including enhanced transparency of farming.

## (Joint meeting of regional tuna stock management organizations)

Tuna stocks have been exposed to overfishing pressures at many locations, while demand for tuna has been rising globally. We have also seen emerging global problems such as the excessive number of fishing vessels and IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) $ ^{*4} $ fishing that regional fisheries management organizations alone cannot address. In this respect, Japan hosted the first joint meeting of five regional tuna fishing management organizations (IATTC $ ^{*5} $ , ICCAT, IOTC $ ^{*6} $ , WCPFC $ ^{*7} $ and CCSBT) in Kobe on January 22-26, 2007, to consider their cooperation.

An "Action Plan," as adopted at the meeting, includes enhanced controls on purse seine and other fishing capacity as well as anti-IUU measures that are indispensable for management of tuna resources. In the future, it is important to steadily implement the "Action Plan." As a responsible fish catching and consuming country, Japan will make positive efforts to have specific measures introduced at these regional fisheries management organizations for implementing the "Action Plan," in order to secure appropriate management of tuna resources and stable supply to consumers.

Photo: A joint meeting of regional tuna resources management organizations