Japan

Jessica Flemming, Jordan Frank, Annai Gonzalez, Carlos Gularte, Robert Greene,
Michael Garcia, Justin Ghan, Paola Gutierrez
BESC 201 Fall 2012

Off the east coast of Asia

Consists of four major islands (Hokkaido,
Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu
Population: 125 million
of land is mountainous and covered with
forests
Total land area: 378,000 square km.
Cities are overcrowded

Geography and
Population

Japanese children learn two sets of phonetic

alphabets (50 letters each)

Hiragana, the basic alphabet, allows them to

write simple sentences.
Katakana, the other alphabet, is to write words of
foreign origin. (English words) Literacy rate is
one of the highest in the world

Literacy rate is one of the highest in the world

Main religions: Shinto, Buddhism, and
Christianity

Language and Religion

Constitutional Monarchy
Emperor Akihito acceded to the throne as the
125th emperor of Japan in 1989.
Emperor is the symbol of the state and of the
unity of the people.
Legislature: House of Representatives (480
members); House of Councillors (242 members)
Administration: Cabinet Office and 11
ministries and agencies under a prime minister
Judiciary: Supreme Court, High Courts, District
Courts, Summary Courts, and Family Courts

Government

Composed of more than3000 islands, so there is

no uniform climate
Overall it has a moderate climate
Characterized by 4 different climatic patterns
Clear-cut temperature changes between the
four seasons
The mixing of warm (Kuroshio) and cold
(Oyashio) ocean currents helps produce
abundant fish near the shores of Japan.

Climate

One of largest consumer of fish; 1 in 10 fish is eaten

Japan introduced the culture and breed fishing
system, or sea farming.
Japan has more than 2,000 fishing ports
Fish was the chief source of protein for the Japanese,
because until 1872 it was illegal in Japan, and
against Buddhist principle, to eat any four-legged
animal
Most Japanese are unaware of the problem

Come on! It's our culture: we're an island people!

Eating fish is what we do - Akihiro Izumi, Sushi
Master

Fishing Culture

The Problem

Fishing an area excessively to exhaust the

supply of usable fish
Caused by high demand
Japanese consumption: 128 lbs/year vs. global
consumptio: 37 lbs/year
Bluefin tuna population
is down by 92% since
1960

Overfishing

Alaska Pollack (4.5)

Japanese Pilchard (4)
Chinese Pilchard (3.25)
Atlantic Cod (2.25)
Chilean Jack Mackerel

Top 5 most caught fish

(millions of tons/year)

Extinction of red
list species
Keystone Species

Environmental Effects

Government Action

Why Its Complicated

Most fisheries have been managed by local

commercial fisherman who are licensed by
local government or lordship over many
centuries.
Recreational fishing has been enjoyed outside
of this jurisdiction or done in fisheries where
visitors were invited with admission paid.
Still in effect today

Fishing permits for inland water are managed by

individual fisheries.
Fisheries are represented by separate Gyokyo or
fisheries cooperatives whoare responsible for
maintaining the environment in which fish are
reproduced or stocked.
They dont own particular water as property, but
they own right to trade fish raised in this water.
Permit is an entrance ticket to participate as guest.
You should purchase a separate fishing permit due
to this every time you walk into different fishery.

Fishing Permits + Private

Rule

Fishing regulations are governed by Inland Water

Fishery Management Commission (IWFMC) who
belongs to each prefectures -state in Japan.
Regulations in place:
1. Size
2. Season
3. Fishing Method
4. Zone.
10 members of IWFMC are selected from local
Gyokyo or fisheries hutcheries, recreational
fishing organization, and research organization.

Fishing Regulations

Area
Tokyo

Tokyo

Water
Inland Water

Coastal Water

Saitama Inland Water

Species
Ayu

Release Size
10cm or less

Open Season
1 June 31 December

Rainbow Trouts 12cm or less

1 March 31 December

Cherry Salmon
and Chars

12cm or less

1 March 30 September

Carps
Eel
Butterfish
Amberjacks
Eel

18cm or less
26cm or less
10cm or less
15cm or less
24cm or less

All Year
All Year
All Year
All Year
All Year

Trouts

15cm or less

1 March 30 September

Carps
Eel

18cm or less
26cm or less

All Year
All Year

Japan top fishing consumer

Exceeded catch quota for southern Bluefin Tuna by
nearly 25 percent last year
150,000 tonnes of tuna consumed by Japanese households
Forcing stricter fishing rules
Global demand for fishing has lead to overfishing

Diminished highly sought after species like Bluefin Tuna

Japan exceeded its 6,065 tonne quota of southern Bluefin

tuna by 1,500 tonnes-Fisheries Agency
United Nation states: more than 70 percent of the world's
commercially important fish stocks are overexploited,
depleted, slowly recovering or close to the maximum
sustainable level of exploitation.

Bluefin Tuna

Commission for Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna allots quotas

for each season's southern Bluefin fishing

Japanese ships send in periodic reports on catches to the Fisheries

Agency

Once quota is met the season is over

New rules:

Worldwide catch limited to 14,080 tons

99% of the world catch circulated in Japan
Japan's allotment will be cut by 1,500 tonnes to help with overfishing

Fishing companies will be allotted a specific quota

Required to tag each fish with date and location of catch
Ships permitted to unload their catch at specific harbors

Violations include:

Forbidding ships from leaving harbor

Up to two years jail time
Fine of 500,000 ($4,309 in US dollars)
Companies that buy and sell untagged (illegal fish) could face punishment
along with the fishing firms

The Japanese government subsidizes the

construction of a series of tuna farms located on the
east coast of Japan. These farms would produce
25,000 tons of Blue Fin Tuna annually, or 10% of
Japan's demand for the species.
Tuna farming provides 98% of Australia's Blue Fin
Tuna production, providing 4900 tons per year to
both Australian and international markets.
By scaling up techniques used in Australia, Japan
will be capable of alleviating pressure on wild Blue
Fin Tuna populations.

Solution

Farms will be constructed approximately 50km

east of Sendai, away from major shipping lanes,
but close enough to a major port to reach
distribution centers
Close to shore, spawning tanks with mature
tuna would produce the eggs needed to hatch
the tuna
Tuna fingerlings would move to a deep water
farm once they reach 25 lbs, in about six weeks.

How We Go About It

Located in water 500-1000m deep

Deep water eliminates a majority of parasites
seen in shallow water tuna farms, decreasing
mortality from 10% to 2%
Deeper water provides stable temperatures,
currents, and cleaner water
Tuna reach market weight (70lbs) in six weeks,
compared to thirteen weeks in shallow water
farms

The Offshore
Farms

The fat content is the most important feature in

Blue Fin Tuna
Farm raised tuna have higher fat contents over
wild tuna
Predictable fat contents bring stability to the
tuna market, where the value of each fish varies
by thousands of dollars

Will Japanese Consumers

Buy It?

Farms need constant support

to operate
Bringing fish from farms
to market
Feeding the tuna requires
tons of food each day

Will Japanese Fleets

Support it?

Blue Fin Tuna currently sells at $75 per lb

BFT prices are unresponsive to price changes in
other types of tuna
Supermarkets selling farm raised BFT can
apply a premium to the product, due to its
sustainable nature.

The Blue Fin Tuna Market

The primary cost associated with farm raising

tuna will come from feeding the growing tuna
Fishing fleets would need a redesign to catch
the quantities of smaller fish required to
produce enough fish bait to feed 25,000 tons of
tuna per year
Currently, 20% of food given to Australian farm
bred tuna is artificial.

Challenges

Climate of Japan." Climate of Japan. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://www.mapsofworld.com>.
Japan's Geography." Japan's Geography. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://www.asianinfo.org>.
Renton, Alex. "One in Ten Fish Is Eaten in Japan. So Why Don't They Know There's a
Shortage?" The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 09 Apr. 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2012.
http://www.guardian.co.uk
"Fishing Permits & Regulations Near Tokyo." Tokyo Fly Fishing & Country Club. N.p., 12 Feb. 2011.
Web. 26
Oct. 2012. <http://tokyoflyfishing.wordpress.com>.
"Annual Seafood Consumption by Country in Pounds per Person." Global Sherpa. N.p., n.d. Web.
<http://glerpa.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Global-Sherpa-Annual-Per-CapitaFishConsumptionby-Country.gif>.
Commercial Fishing In Japan: Fishing Industry, Overfishing, Fish Farms, Fishermen and Gian
Jellyfish.
Facts and Details. N.p., 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2012. <http://factsanddetails.com/japan.php?
itemid=937>.
National Geographic. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/
000/183/marine-food-chain-image_18329.jpg>.
Kirchhoff, Nicole T., Kirsty M. Rough, and Barbara F. Nowak. "Moving Cages Further Offshore: Effects on Southern
Bluefin Tuna, T. Maccoyii, Parasites, Health and Performance." PLOS ONE:. N.p., 25 Aug. 2011. Web. 06 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0023705>.
Shamshak, Gina L. "Economic Evaluation of Capture-Based Bluefin Tuna Aquaculture on the US East Coast."
Marine Resource Economics 26 (2011): 309-28. Web. <http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/bitstream/133337/2/08SHAMSHAK.pdf>.
Sun, Chin-Hwa Jenny. Global Tuna Demand and Fisheries Dynamics: Economics of the Tuna Longline and Tuna Purse-Seine
Fisheries in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Nov. 2012.
<http://fisheriesstockassessment.com/files/economics/Comprehensive%20Final%20Report_2010_Jenny%20Sun.pdf>
.
Ottolenghi, Francesca. "Capture-based Aquaculture Of Bluefin Tuna." FAO Fisheries Technical Paper. (2008): 169-82.
Print.

Sources