Japanese Tuna Fishing Industry and Its Operation in the South Pacific

The Japanese tuna fishing industry has undergone many structural transitions throughout its history, being regulated by the fisheries law according to vessel type, operational areas (pelagic, coastal etc.) and other criteria for each type of fishing method (type of fishery). These historical changes and institutional issues have come to be strongly influenced by international factors as: (1) the tuna species targeted by the Japanese tuna industry are distributed throughout the vast temperate and tropical ocean regions of the world and are highly migratory species, or migrating through high seas and many coastal waters under national jurisdiction; (2) the fishing grounds targeted by Japanese tuna vessels encompass most ocean areas of the world; and (3) Japan is the only market for sashimi tuna while the raw tuna for canned products is internationally marketed. Japanese methods of the industrial and stock management on the basis of fishing methods are supposed to shift toward a quota system regime in line with the recent international stock management debate at FAO, etc. The Japanese industry is facing a fierce battle in reorganizing the international framework to incorporate fundamental issues and the recent conditions such as: (1) sharp falls in fish prices due to the recession and a sharp rise in imported products; (2) low catch rates over the past few years centered on the Eastern Pacific region; and (3) the year-by-year strengthening of international stock management regimes. These conditions have provoked the worst situation in the history of the Japanese tuna industry