Tuna fishermen from Japan’s largest fishing cooperatives have suspended fishing operations temporarily since the end of July as part of international efforts to encourage tuna numbers to grow again following years of overfishing, reports David Hayes.
According to Japan Tuna Fisheries Cooperative Association (Japan Tuna), Japan's largest association of deep sea tuna fishermen, 233 of its pelagic longline tuna boat operators will each suspend fishing operations for two to three month periods sometime from the start of August 2008 to the end of July 2010 in a bid to help tuna stocks recover following a large increase in tuna fishing over the past decade.
About 100 of the tuna boat operators are expected to suspend fishing operations in the 12 month period from August to July 2009 because high fuel costs are eating their profits, the association said.
The Japanese tuna fishing suspension is expected to reduce the national tuna catch by about 5%.
Ocean going tuna boats normally go on voyages lasting one to two years. Usually they depart on their next voyage after anchoring in a home port for a couple of days. Even when repairs are needed the rest time in port is only about four weeks. Under the fishing suspension plan, the vessels will extend their port stays to two to three months, the association said.
Japan Tuna also has called on Japan's two other distant water longline tuna fishing organisations to carry out a coordinated suspension of fishing operations to help tuna stocks recover. Both have said they will join Japan Tuna's action.
“We cannot make a profit at all from our fishing operations because of the prohibitively high fuel prices," Japan Tuna president Masahiro Ishikawa told reporters. “However, our operation suspension also is intended to recover tuna resources. Now we cannot catch tuna as we did before because tuna have been depleted by overfishing. In the Eastern Pacific, for example, the catch per unit of effort has plunged as much as 40% during the past decade. We have to take action to cope with this situation.”
Global tuna stocks have fallen dramatically in recent years due to the growing popularity of Japanese sushi and sashimi around the world as more people try to eat a healthy diet.
The Japanese fleet's daily catch of tuna is understood to have dropped by about 20% due to overfishing while international quotas on the most valuable tuna varieties such as southern bluefin mean that fishing boat captains can no longer target these tuna to maximise their catch value.
Japan accounts for about 34% the world's total 1.96 million mt a year tuna consumption. Total Japanese tuna consumption in 2005 was 660,000mt, according to Japan's Fisheries Agency, of which most was eaten as sashimi and sushi. Tuna accounts for 8% of all fishery products eaten in Japan.
According to official statistics tuna imports are double the size of the Japanese tuna fleet's annual catch. Imports in 2005 totalled 460,000mt, double the domestic catch of 230,000mt.
Taiwanese and South Korean tuna fishing boats are important suppliers of tuna to the Japanese market.
Wholesale prices for the choicest tuna cuts, served in high end restaurants and sushi bars, have risen by about 25% during the past year though the price of lower grade tuna sold in supermarkets has hardly changed at all.
Efforts to increase tuna stocks come at a time when many tuna fishermen face problems from declining catches and rising fuel prices, which together are affecting fishermen's profits. Japan Tuna says the cost of heavy fuel for deep sea tuna boats has doubled over the past year to Yen 120,000 (US$1,137) a kilolitre.
According to the Tokyo-based Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries (OPRT) that covers 12 countries, some 140 Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean tuna fishing boats already have decided to suspend tuna fishing operations during the fishing season and more are likely to do so to help tuna stocks recover.
One of the main problems affecting tuna stocks is the growing use of purse seiners to capture tuna. Leading member nations of the OPRT based in Tokyo have agreed measures to limit longline tuna vessel numbers and the total longline catch size. However, there are no set limits yet on purse seiner tuna fishing which is responsible for the large decline in tuna stocks.
Japan had a fleet of more than 800 deep sea tuna fishing vessels a generation ago but tighter international tuna fishing quotas and declining profits has reduced the fleet size by more than half. Japan's tuna fishing fleet numbers about 360 boats today, equivalent to one third of the total 1,178 tuna vessels registered with OPRT. Only Taiwan has a larger tuna fleet than Japan, having 415 vessels registered with OPRT.
Meanwhile, Japan is expected to remain the largest tuna consuming nation in future with traditional tuna dishes proving popular with children. Although the fisheries industry is concerned that the younger generation are beginning to eat more meat, evidence suggests that tuna dishes, particularly sushi, remain popular with all age groups.
“Fast food sushi demand is strong as it is cheaper. Children still like fish,” commented a spokesman at Japan Fisheries Association. “We are concerned they will like meat and change their food preference. Children like sushi especially with tuna and salmon roe, more than cooked fish. Also, cooked fish is more difficult for them to eat with chopsticks than sushi
About 100 of the tuna boat operators are expected to suspend fishing operations in the 12 month period from August to July 2009 because high fuel costs are eating their profits, the association said.
The Japanese tuna fishing suspension is expected to reduce the national tuna catch by about 5%.
Ocean going tuna boats normally go on voyages lasting one to two years. Usually they depart on their next voyage after anchoring in a home port for a couple of days. Even when repairs are needed the rest time in port is only about four weeks. Under the fishing suspension plan, the vessels will extend their port stays to two to three months, the association said.
Japan Tuna also has called on Japan's two other distant water longline tuna fishing organisations to carry out a coordinated suspension of fishing operations to help tuna stocks recover. Both have said they will join Japan Tuna's action.
“We cannot make a profit at all from our fishing operations because of the prohibitively high fuel prices," Japan Tuna president Masahiro Ishikawa told reporters. “However, our operation suspension also is intended to recover tuna resources. Now we cannot catch tuna as we did before because tuna have been depleted by overfishing. In the Eastern Pacific, for example, the catch per unit of effort has plunged as much as 40% during the past decade. We have to take action to cope with this situation.”
Global tuna stocks have fallen dramatically in recent years due to the growing popularity of Japanese sushi and sashimi around the world as more people try to eat a healthy diet.
The Japanese fleet's daily catch of tuna is understood to have dropped by about 20% due to overfishing while international quotas on the most valuable tuna varieties such as southern bluefin mean that fishing boat captains can no longer target these tuna to maximise their catch value.
Japan accounts for about 34% the world's total 1.96 million mt a year tuna consumption. Total Japanese tuna consumption in 2005 was 660,000mt, according to Japan's Fisheries Agency, of which most was eaten as sashimi and sushi. Tuna accounts for 8% of all fishery products eaten in Japan.
According to official statistics tuna imports are double the size of the Japanese tuna fleet's annual catch. Imports in 2005 totalled 460,000mt, double the domestic catch of 230,000mt.
Taiwanese and South Korean tuna fishing boats are important suppliers of tuna to the Japanese market.
Wholesale prices for the choicest tuna cuts, served in high end restaurants and sushi bars, have risen by about 25% during the past year though the price of lower grade tuna sold in supermarkets has hardly changed at all.
Efforts to increase tuna stocks come at a time when many tuna fishermen face problems from declining catches and rising fuel prices, which together are affecting fishermen's profits. Japan Tuna says the cost of heavy fuel for deep sea tuna boats has doubled over the past year to Yen 120,000 (US$1,137) a kilolitre.
According to the Tokyo-based Organisation for the Promotion of Responsible Tuna Fisheries (OPRT) that covers 12 countries, some 140 Taiwanese, Chinese and South Korean tuna fishing boats already have decided to suspend tuna fishing operations during the fishing season and more are likely to do so to help tuna stocks recover.
One of the main problems affecting tuna stocks is the growing use of purse seiners to capture tuna. Leading member nations of the OPRT based in Tokyo have agreed measures to limit longline tuna vessel numbers and the total longline catch size. However, there are no set limits yet on purse seiner tuna fishing which is responsible for the large decline in tuna stocks.
Japan had a fleet of more than 800 deep sea tuna fishing vessels a generation ago but tighter international tuna fishing quotas and declining profits has reduced the fleet size by more than half. Japan's tuna fishing fleet numbers about 360 boats today, equivalent to one third of the total 1,178 tuna vessels registered with OPRT. Only Taiwan has a larger tuna fleet than Japan, having 415 vessels registered with OPRT.
Meanwhile, Japan is expected to remain the largest tuna consuming nation in future with traditional tuna dishes proving popular with children. Although the fisheries industry is concerned that the younger generation are beginning to eat more meat, evidence suggests that tuna dishes, particularly sushi, remain popular with all age groups.
“Fast food sushi demand is strong as it is cheaper. Children still like fish,” commented a spokesman at Japan Fisheries Association. “We are concerned they will like meat and change their food preference. Children like sushi especially with tuna and salmon roe, more than cooked fish. Also, cooked fish is more difficult for them to eat with chopsticks than sushi
No comments:
Post a Comment