TSSS 10th Special Feature:Looking Back on the Past Ten years and Looking Ahead to the Future with Key Persons in Japan’s Seafood Industry(Part 2)

For the 10th anniversary of TSSS (Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit), founded by Seafood Legacy in collaboration with Nikkei ESG, we brought together past speakers at TSSS for a round table discussion. In the first part, we looked back on the last ten years and talked about how the Japanese fisheries industry has become more familiar with sustainability as well as about the problems that fishing companies are still facing.

In the second part, we look to the future and discuss what issues the Japanese fishing industry will need to work on until the target date of the SDG goals in 2030 and what expectations our guests have for the future of TSSS. The round table continues to be facilitated by Mr. Hanaoka Wakao, President and chief executive officer of Seafood Legacy.

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The fishing industry continues losing resources as well as manpower. What needs to be done to ensure fishing can continue?

Hanaoka:
I would like to continue hearing everyone’s opinions. From the viewpoint of sustainability, what do you think are issues that the fishing industry in Japan needs to tackle until 2030?

Hasegawa:
What I am currently telling fishermen is that they need to transform and change. Unless not only they but also the actors next in line – fishing boats and ports, distributors and the marketplace – also improve and the fishing industry as a whole becomes sustainable, the marine environment will not get better either. Fishermen need to have a wider perspective on things and lead other actors by example.

For example, while people still think very differently about DX (digital transformation), it will be essential for promoting sustainability in the fisheries industry. But I think that its integration in the Japanese fishing industry is still far too slow. It is important to honor traditions, but when we are thinking about the future, we need to keep in mind that we are passing on the baton to the next generation and need to embrace new ways of doing things.

Ms. Iue Minako

Iue:
Looking ahead to 2030, there are only six years left. One thing that we can do until then is to expand the range of target fish species that are covered by the Act Ensuring the Proper Domestic Distribution and Importation of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants and create a society that will bring results. Around 400 different fish species are being consumed in Japan, but the only three domestic fish species and four imported fish species are currently covered by the Law on Control and Improvement of Marine Product Distribution. In comparison to the European Union, where all imported fish species are within scope, and the USA, where the 17 main fish species are within scope, the number in Japan is far too low. Mr. Ito Junro, the Representative Director and Chief Sustainability Officer at Seven & i Holdings, calls for all fish species to be covered, and companies involved in the fishery industry, including large distribution companies, need to take action.

Kakizoe:
Whether or not the continuation of the fishing industry and ocean ecosystem conservation are able to coexist will depend on the next six years. The fishing industry has changed from an industry that catches fish to an industry that creates value from fish. In the future, it will need to define itself as an industry that can contribute to protecting the world of tomorrow. There are people who catch the fish, those who process it, sell it, and those who distribute it, and this process is contributing to society. It is important to protect the marine laws and resources, but it is as important to protect the industry and the people working in it.

Usui:
The key industries in rural areas are the primary industries. If the primary industries decline, then the local economy will also decline, and if the local economies decline, then the entire country will go into decline. That is why I believe that the key to Japan’s recovery lies in the restoration of the primary industries.

I hope that in the six years until 2030, the Act Ensuring the Proper Domestic Distribution and Importation of Specified Aquatic Animals and Plants will be thoroughly implemented. The import of cheap fish to Japan from abroad causes the market price of Japanese fish to fall. I was recently asked by the Taiwanese government to participate in a human rights forum in Taiwan, and while I was there, I was faced with serious complaints from the local fishermen. They told me that cheap fish from IUU fishing is able to get to the market via Japan and that the purchase price for Japanese fish is therefore far too low, which makes it impossible for Taiwanese fishermen to make a profit. They want Japan to stop buying fish from IUU fishing. The fishing industry in Japan as well as abroad is close to ruin. I hope that society will change so that fishing companies who conduct fishing operations correctly are able to survive.

Mr. Usui Sotaro

Fujita:
I think an underlying problem is that the fishing industry is not a growth industry anymore, and unless that changes, it won’t be possible to solve problems no matter how much investment is made in sustainability. I also come from a fishing town, and if jobs don’t improve in terms of worker and human rights considerations and cannot offer higher revenues and appropriate wages, then there will be nobody left who wants to succeed such a business. We need to change the social structure to ensure that there is ESG investment and lending for initiatives that aim to improve this situation.

The fishing industry is often in the spotlight because of the risks to nature and its ecosystem impacts, but I would like to see more acknowledgment of the many nature-positive initiatives to replenish and grow fishery resources and increase the value of nature. We also need to think of a structure where profits are not absorbed only by the huge cities but where the local areas that are the basis for nature can prosper.

Also, related to what Mr. Hasegawa said earlier about DX, DX and science will become more important in the years up to 2030. Unless we are able to visualize the value of nature based on scientific data, it will be impossible for the TNFD (Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures) to provide correct information, and efforts may end up being “green-washing※.”

※ “Green-washing”: making it seem like a problem is being addressed, while the true situation is different.

 
There are a number of other things I consider important, but to mention only one more, I would like to see the pride of a region in Japan to become recognized globally. The sustainability standards and certifications originating in the USA are important and until now the general view was that Japan is lagging behind. But Japan has a long history and culture of making the best use of hundreds of different fish species. I want to build a society that connects this knowledge and expertise of those involved in the Japanese fisheries industry to a region’s value and to nature positivity.

Hanaoka:
“An industry that can secure the world of tomorrow” and “nature positivity” are both essential keywords in working towards the future. One of Seafood Legacy’s goals for 2030 is to make sustainable seafood the mainstream in the seafood market. I would like to see the strong buying power that the Japanese marine products market has in domestic and international production areas act as an incentive to solve problems such as human rights issues, IUU fishing, or overfishing, and to create a “Japanese model” for production, processing, and distribution and pave the road for entry into the global markets that are pursuing sustainability.

New rules originating from Japan. TSSS as a leader in Asia and the world

Hanaoka:
Finally, as our last question, what are your expectations for TSSS in the future?

Hasegawa:
What would you like to do, Mr. Hanaoka? The activities of Seafood Legacy and TSSS have started from your aspirations and ambitions, and all of us are just following your lead. So I think it is important to hear what you consider to be issues and how you would like to approach them.

Hanaoka:
Thank you very much. As you are aware, the name TSSS (Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit) includes the word “summit.” I think of the TSSS as a place where all kinds of stakeholders with the same motivation gather together with their sights set on the same summit to meet with other people who have solutions or the energy to work towards solving problems, and as a place where new initiatives are born. I want to grow TSSS further to be able to fulfill this vision.

Also, we spent the past ten years focusing on making sustainability a familiar concept in Japan, but in the future, I also want to pay attention to ways in which we can bring initiatives from Japan to Asia and the rest of the world to make a positive impact. In the past, the business model of Japan’s fishing industry was the basis for the business models of fishing industries in the rest of the world. In the future, I would like to be able to propose new rules and systems for the fishing industry from Japan to the rest of the world in the areas of sustainability and responsibility.

Mr. Hanaoka Wakao

Hasegawa:
My wish would be for you to simply push ahead like that. Myself and the fishermen I know have been inspired by the TSSS since its inception and let it pull us along. I want the TSSS to always be that kind of presence.

I also think it would be wonderful if the TSSS could establish something like subcommittees that can work on developing concrete actions to tackle issues that have come to the forefront, to make it easier for all stakeholders to take action.

Iue:
As you said, Mr. Hanaoka, I absolutely agree with your vision of taking leadership in Asia. I believe that it will depend on the TSSS how global fishery maps will look like in the future. I would also like people throughout the world to think of TSSS as one of the largest international platforms for the fisheries industry and for it to become a stage that the world’s leading fishery experts want to be seen and speak at.

And if I let myself dream a little bigger, then I can even see the TSSS make use of the vast knowledge and pool of talented people that come together to set up think-tanks or (research) institutes. It might also be a good idea to add entertainment value in order to be able to appeal to the wider general public and have it take an interest. Adding music or performances into the mix to give TSSS a slight makeover, what do you think?

Kakizoe:
I agree with all that has been said by the others before me, but would like to mention one point that I feel has been overlooked. With the exception of very few countries, the population in almost all countries in the world is shrinking, and so I think it will become necessary to think about defining an appropriate scale. The word “sustainability” originally means it, right? Like Mr. Usui and Ms. Fujita mentioned, the exhaustion in rural areas is a huge problem and we cannot go on avoiding the issue of determining what an appropriate scale would be. I would like to see this topic being discussed at the TSSS one day.

Usui:
Even with this point in mind, I personally would like to see a restoration and improvement of the local fishing communities. In 2020, we built fishing boats with new equipment under the slogan of “becoming an attractive industry that brings people together.” Based on what Mr. Kakizoe just pointed out, our ambition to become an industry where people come together and to make rural areas attractive might seem contrary to the times, but despite that, we want to build a movement aimed at such a future. This would also be encouraging and motivating for us in our work.

I would therefore want the TSSS to continue leading all of us who work directly in fishing as well as those in the government.

Fujita:
My wish in relation to this topic is only a small one, but I would like to see land-based aquaculture be discussed more in the future. On the one hand, land-based aquaculture helps food shortage, but on the other hand it has its own issues surrounding antibiotics, drainage, feed, or energy. I would like to see a session talking about how to develop environmental impact standards for aquaculture, and how aquaculture should be implemented in relation to the natural environment in the affected areas.

I would also like to see more stakeholders from academia as speakers and for TSSS to become a place where people working directly in the fishing industry, scientists, and investors can be brought together. In the same way that the CO2 field has SBTs※, I think it would be good to have discussions on science-based indicators for fisheries, too, that could serve financial institutions as guidance when making investment and lending decisions.

※SBT: Science Based Targets. International initiative that provides indicators for companies to set goals for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. In order to achieve the Paris Agreement’s 2°C (1.5°C) target (keeping the temperature increase well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and aiming to limit it to 1.5°C), companies are required to set scientifically based mid- to long-term targets over 5 to 15 years to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and take action to achieve these targets

In addition, all of the session topics at the TSSS are great, and in the future, it would be wonderful to see the TSSS being part of an overarching story where nature-positive industries, including the fisheries industry, are acknowledged, receive funding and attract talent, and the reputation of the communities also improves.

Hanaoka:
On the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the TSSS, we looked back on the past ten years and I feel that we have made great progress during these years. At the same time, there are still many problems that we need to challenge and address going forward and this round table has drawn a good outline of some of these issues. In order to achieve our goals for 2030, we will work together with even more stakeholders on growing the TSSS into the flagship of this movement.

Original Japanese text: Shino Kawasaki