SUNS  4313 Friday 30 October 1998



JAPAN: CURBING APPETITE FOR TUNA HAS A PRICE

Tokyo, Oct 29 (IPS/Suvendrini Kakuchi) -- Japan is trying to rein in its insatiable appetite for tuna to help ease the overfishing of fish stocks -- but in doing so has sailed into an ugly war against both
international fishing rivals and local fishermen.

The matter is of no small import to a country that is the world's top consumer of tuna. Raw tuna is a coveted delicacy in sushi bars in Japan, which imports one-third of the world's tuna catch.

Japan's demand feeds both competition among suppliers at home and abroad. "Japan's economic boom after World War II encouraged a large appetite for expensive tuna. With the birth of a rich middle-class the demand for tuna has been steadily growing," said Shigeki Komori of the World Wildlife Fund, Japan.

Those heady years however seem to be ending. Dwindling stocks and international criticism targeting Japan as an irresponsible and greedy consumer, has forced Tokyo to take decisive steps on curtailing overfishing.

Learning from the bitter flak and battered international image it got for resisting cutbacks on whaling in the past, the Japanese government has recently begun to acknowledge that the country has been overfishing.

"Japan wants to show the world that it is a responsible partner in the international community," said Moriya Kaneko, who is in charge of tuna fishing issues at the Fisheries Agency.

For the first time, he says, legislation will take effect in January that requires Japanese fishermen to get permission from the ministry of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, before they can work on ships of countries not belonging to the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The penalties include a fine of up to 4,200 U.S. dollars and a prison term of up to two years.

Officials hope this restriction will improve control over tuna trade ease some of the pressure on tuna stocks, because Japanese fishermen possess high technology and fishing skills for tuna fishing that they have been passing on to other commercial operations.

Many have already joined as crew aboard foreign fishing vessels in a bid to keep up their trade.

This also underlines the fact that the tuna trade continues to be a profitable one. Conservationists report that most countries want to export to Japan because of the lucrative market for raw tuna, which is sold at 30 times more than canned tuna. Indeed, 90 percent of Japan's wholesale market for fresh tuna comes from imports, mainly from Taiwan, Indonesia, South Korea and the United
States.

In 1997 Japan imported 250,000 tonnes of tuna, slightly lower than the previous year's level. Locally, Japanese fishermen caught 300,000 tonnes that year. Both figures are within Japan's tuna quotas under international fishing regulations.

The result has been a highly competitive tuna trade between countries as well as with Japanese ships, all vying for the Japanese market.

Even countries that are not members of ICCAT, such as those in the South Pacific, that do not have to follow quota restrictions, also export to Japan.

As a result of high demand and stiff competition, tuna stocks are down by one-fifth, environmentalists say.

Bluefin tuna, which has a high demand in sushi bars, fetches the highest price but only makes up around 2 percent total tuna catch because stocks have been depleted so much. A recent record price for a fish weighing 238 kilograms was quoted in the media as fetching 80,000 U.S. dollars.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation says that tuna fishing must be reduced by 30 percent if stocks are to be protected for the future. Japan has proposed a 20 percent reduction instead.

"The government accepts the need to conserve in order to protect tuna stocks. Our figure is based on the need to protect stocks on a sustainable basis," explained Kaneko.

For some, Japan's position on a 20 percent reduction, along with plans for the law limiting its fishermen working for foreign fishing operations may be too modest a move to make a difference.

But this is already a far cry from a few years ago, when the Japanese government blocked attempts by conservationists to restrict tuna hauls, by dismissing reports of stock depletion as exaggerated and unscientific.

And because Japan is a member of the ICCAT which restricts its tuna fishing, there have been some changes in its tuna industry, including the growing number of fishermen working on ships that carry flags of convenience commonly registered in Central American countries like Honduras, Belize and Panama.

The prospect of further curbs on their employment in tuna fishing -- through the law expected in January -- has drawn angry protests from the fishermen warning of growing unemployment and hardship at a time of recession.

But Tokyo insists it is standing firm this time. "There is a definite conservationist mood this time growing within bureaucrats," Komori  said.

"It's not only to fend off international criticism, but also because they (officials) seem to realise that fishing without responsibility will not have economic benefits in the long run.  That's a major step toward preserving marine resources that find a market in Japan," he added.