## Fishery Policy for FY2013

Based on the Basic Plan for Fisheries formulated in March 2012, the government will promote recovery and management of fishery resources, and will strive to establish a robust fishing industry that remains sustainable in the future. To this end, the government will implement such measures as ensuring the stability of fishery business management through resource-management/fishery business-management stability measures, securing and training fishery operators, and supporting the activities of fishers, etc. for demonstrating the multiple functions of the fishing industry and fishing communities.

## I Reconstruction of the damages caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake

1 Steadily implementing measures oriented toward realizing reconstruction

2 Overcoming the impact of the accident at TEPCO's Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant

## I I Strengthening fishery resource management under a new resource-management system

1 Strengthening resource management in Japan’s exclusive economic zones

2 Promoting global resource management

3 Enhancing investigative research related to fishery resources

4 Establishing sustainable aquaculture with little environmental burdens

5 Ensuring development of fisheries based on coexistence of a variety of marine organisms

## I II Achieving stability of business management of motivated fishery operators

1 Ensuring the stability of fishery business management through resource-management/fishery business-management stability measures

- In order to achieve appropriate resource management and stability of fishery business management and to secure a stably supply of fish and fishery products to people, resource-management/income-stability measures will be implemented for fishers who systematically engage in resource management by utilizing the system of fishery mutual aid. By combining such measures with the project for building a safety net for fishery business management, which is a cost-reduction measure, the government will comprehensively promote the stability of fishery business management.

## Outline of the resource-management/fishery business-management stability measures

## Key points:

- In order to secure a stable supply fish and fishery products to people, resource-management/income-stability measures are implemented for fishers who systematically engage in resource management by utilizing the system of fishery mutual aid; and by combining such measures with a cost-reduction measure, comprehensive business-management stability measures are developed.

- The measures target types of fisheries that are subject to fishery mutual aid (coastal, offshore, and far-seas fisheries and aquaculture).

## Engagement in resource management activity

Based on resource management guidelines formulated by the national and prefectural governments, a fisher (organization) creates a resource management plan describing the resource management measures, such as suspending fishery operations, restricting the catch volume, and restricting the fishing gear, which the fisher (organization) will carry out, and securely implements that plan.

In the case of aquaculture, from the viewpoint of improving the aquaculture areas, an operator strictly observes the appropriate volume of cultured organisms specified in the aquaculture area improvement plan prepared by a fisheries cooperative, based on the Sustainable Aquaculture Production Assurance Act.

## Contribution of funds

## Implementation of the resourcemanagement/income-stability measures

Funded by fishers and government

✓ When an income decreases by an amount exceeding a predetermined amount from the reference income level (note), the decreased income is compensated by the fishery mutual aid (up to 80%, in principle) and/or Tsumitate Plus (up to 90%, in principle).

✓ Compensation is provided for resource management activity by using the systems of fishery mutual aid and Tsumitate Plus.

* The amount of the compensation is equivalent to 30% of the fishery mutual aid premium (average) or the national government's share of fund contributions to the Tsumitate Plus (fisher 1: national government 3).

## Compensation in the case of a price hike

✓ When the price of crude oil or formula feed exceeds “the average price for three of the past five years that are not the year recording the highest and lowest prices × 100%” the portion in excess is compensated.

[Project for building a safety net for fishery business management]