Procuring Japanese seafood is becoming increasingly difficult due to declining resources, rising seawater temperatures due to climate change, increasing global demand, and currency exchange rate fluctuations. How can we sustainably increase domestic seafood production to maintain a stable supply? The fisheries industry newspaper the Daily Minato held a roundtable discussion titled “Sustainable Fisheries Conference” on December 6th of 2024in Tokyo, featuring three participants: Masaru Ikemi, President of Maruha Nichiro; Shingo Hamada, President of Nissui; and Takeshi Mori, Director-General of the Fisheries Agency. The leaders of the two major seafood companies and the fisheries administration discussed measures to make the domestic fisheries industry more sustainable, looking ahead to the next 10 years. They also heard requests from the private sector and the government.

(Titles omitted in the text, Moderator: Akiyoshi Ukida, General Manager of the Daily Minato and Director of Minato-Yamaguchi)

This feature is reprinted from the January 30, 2025 issue of the Daily Minato.

<Past Series>
[Part1]Fish Stock Management: Maruha Nichiro CEO, Ikemi “Budget and Personnel Needed for Research”

[Part2]Climate Change: Nissui CEO, Hamada, “Toward Improved Productivity Through Larger Fishing Vessels”

[Part3]Aquaculture: the Director-General of Fishery Agency, Mori “Expectations for Collaboration Between Both Companies and Small and Medium-Sized Producers”

[Part4]Export Expansion: Maruha Nichiro CEO, Ikemi “Higher Prices Overseas with Proven Traceability”

The fourth topic of discussion was “export expansion.”

Q: Producers need to generate sustainable profits for the Japanese fisheries industry to develop sustainably. To achieve this, let’s consider measures to expand seafood exports, which the government also focuses on.

Ikemi: Increasing exports is vital to raise the value of Japanese seafood. The biggest issue for both natural and farmed products is traceability (production history tracking). Compared to other countries, the system is insufficient, and there are issues such as proving that we are not involved in IUU (illegal, unreported, and unregulated) fishing.

If the government tightens traceability management and businesses can prove their production and distribution history to customers, seafood from the Japanese coast will be more highly evaluated overseas and will sell at higher prices.

Electronification

Q: The government enacted the Act on Ensuring the Proper Domestic Distribution and Importation of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants (Fisheries Distribution Properization Act) in 2020 after the revision of the Fisheries Act, and it came into effect in 2022. The government designates fish species that are easily illegally caught and requires businesses to transmit and record necessary information at the catching and distribution stages.

Mori : The act was institutionalized to eliminate domestic distribution and importing seafood from IUU fishing. For domestic seafood (specified first-class aquatic animals and plants), in addition to abalone, sea cucumber, and glass eel, the law was revised last year with Pacific bluefin tuna (large fish) in mind. For imported seafood (specified second-class aquatic animals and plants), legal harvest certificates issued by foreign government agencies are required at the time of import for squid, saury, mackerel, and sardine suspected to be derived from IUU fishing.

Hamada: Regarding legal harvest certificates, overseas, the electronification of catch information and anti-counterfeiting measures are progressing, such as catch certificates being issued in electronic documents.

Of the 2.7 million tons of seafood our group handles annually, about 70% are caught from managed fisheries, but the response to the remaining 30% of seafood is a concern. Electronification also leads to transparency of production history.

Mori: Regarding how much the electronification of production history tracking should be expanded, it is necessary to consider the introduction cost. System introduction costs money at each stage of production, distribution, etc. The biggest issue is whether it is reflected in the sales price and whether consumers evaluate it.

Ikemi: Resource management and production history tracking should be considered together. If accurate data can be collected for resource management, it will strengthen traceability. We should work on the assumption that resource management costs are naturally incurred. Although it may still be difficult in Japan, the value of seafood with solid traceability will definitely increase overseas. Even if it costs money, it can be offset if it sells at a high price overseas.

Hamada: To expand the export of Japanese farmed fish, Japan should also enhance its efforts in traceability and seafood eco-label certification. As environmental awareness increases worldwide, Japan is required to take internationally-advanced measures.

The traceability system must be implemented with the determination to be legislated under the government’s leadership. It is difficult for a single company to handle, and it is challenging to increase seafood exports.

Ikemi: The government should introduce production history tracking for all fish species targeted for export by taking measures such as electronicizing information that proves the legality of production by attaching barcodes and QR codes and having observers on board. Conversely, proper production history tracking will lead to promoting certification acquisition.

International Certification

Q: International certifications such as ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council) are often required when exporting farmed fish. For that purpose, isn’t it necessary to establish traceability from the feed raw material fish stage?

 Hamada: If we can track the history of domestic feed raw material fish from the catching stage, we can obtain most international certifications. The Nissui Group has also obtained ASC certification for farmed yellowtail, but exports do not increase just by obtaining international certification.

Suppose we develop a growth strategy for the aquaculture industry through increased exports. In that case, we would need to comply with each country’s regulations, such as those regarding drugs prohibited in the United States. We know that the Fisheries Agency is requesting action from the authorities, but given the current situation, the expansion of farmed fish exports is not progressing easily.

In Conclusion

Q: Finally, here are a few words from each of you.

 Mori : I learned a lot today.

The per capita consumption of edible seafood in Japan peaked at about 40 kg in 2001 but has roughly halved to about 22 kilograms in 2022. Under these circumstances, the Fisheries Agency has designated the 3rd to 7th of every month as “Fish Day”. It promotes various information dissemination activities in collaboration with the public and private sectors. We would like you to continue to work together to encourage fish consumption for the sustainable use of domestic seafood.

Ikemi: We all share the desire to revitalize the Japanese fisheries industry. We should consider the future of the Japanese fisheries industry together as All Japan. I hope we can not only talk about it, but also take concrete steps soon.

Hamada: When you go to a supermarket in the United States, you see large whole fresh fish lined up. On the other hand, there is less fresh fish on the shelves of Japanese supermarkets. We need to expand Japanese seafood sales areas.

We all share the goal of making the Japanese fisheries industry grow. To this end, we want to deepen our communication, share our wisdom, and establish a Japanese version of seafood resource management methods.