Exploring future challenges from the current situation and efforts surrounding small-scale fisheries

While the importance of small-scale fisheries in East and Southeast Asia is increasing in terms of food security and maintaining local economies, their vulnerability is also a challenge. How can we increase the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and enhance their distinctive diversity? We must consider ways to revitalize small-scale fisheries and local communities, including by utilizing digital transformation (DX) and sustainable finance.

The panel discussion "Imagining the Future of Small-Scale Fisheries - The Power of Digital Transformation and Sustainable Finance" held at the Sustainable Seafood Summit in Osaka (TSSS2025) featured five people involved in small-scale fisheries.

Each participant gave a presentation on their activities and discussed the current state of small-scale fisheries in Japan and how to address the challenges of passing them on to the next generation..

Recruiting a wide range of stakeholdersTackling ocean issues at the Fisheries Future Summit

Fisherman Japan has been working to resolve the most important issues facing the fishing industry, including marine environmental conservation, resource management, and the eradication of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. However, we felt that we could not solve these major problems on our own, and so we have been holding the Fisheries Future Summit once a year since 2024 to move towards solutions that transcend the ties of region, fishing method, industry, and past.

Tsuda Yuki of Fisherman Japan Marketing reported that the second summit, to be held in Kagoshima in 2025, will feature keynote speeches, presentations by local elementary school students on initiatives to promote fisheries, panel discussions, presentations on the results of projects launched at the first summit, and theme-specific discussions by visitors. The Fisheries Future Summit has been praised as a forum where fishermen can speak out,Winner of the Collaboration Category at the 6th Japan Sustainable Seafood AwardsThe third event is scheduled to be held in Noto in March 2026.Click here for details).

Immediate and medium- to long-term measures as seen in the Chatham Fish discussion

The UMINEKO Sustainability Institute serves as the secretariat for Chatham Fish, a forum where people involved in the fishing industry, government officials, financial institutions, researchers, environmental groups, and the media anonymously discuss the restoration of marine resources and sustainable fishing. As rising sea surface temperatures in the surrounding area have been observed to affect changes in fishing grounds and fish reproduction, Chatham Fish has identified emergency measures such as real-time data collection and monitoring, increasing the research budget to improve the accuracy of data evaluation, and strengthening its analysis system.

As a medium- to long-term measure, the creation of a production system that can adapt to changes was cited. It was also suggested that it would be necessary to reduce the number of vessels in line with declining catches, promote collaboration, and change fishing operations, and that even coastal fisheries must have the capital to operate in multiple fishing grounds and using multiple fishing methods across Japan. Kumei Makoto of the Umineko Sustainability Research Institute said, "The key to survival is to increase the number of forums for discussion between a wide range of stakeholders and fishermen in each region and to make use of people's wisdom."

Cutting-edge technology enables real-time data collection and analysis for ocean restoration

With real-time data collection and analysis cited as an urgent issue, Furuno Electric Co., Ltd. is working to share, analyze, and monitor data from fisheries sites via the cloud, and in cooperation with research institutions, is working to utilize this data to improve fishing grounds. In particular, in the fishing industry, data obtained from instruments traditionally installed on each fishing boat, such as fish finders, GPS, and water thermometers, is collected in the cloud and shared in real time between fishing boats, which can improve the efficiency of fishing search operations and be used to train the next generation. Takuto Hazama of Furuno Electric said, "We also hope that data will be shared within the region and used for on-site fishing ground analysis."

In fixed net fishing, by incorporating fish finders, water thermometers, GPS, communication devices, and batteries into the buoys placed in the box nets, the collected data can be used to detect strong tides and avoid dangerous operations, or to estimate fish species and arrange for delivery in advance, thereby solving issues with operating costs.

The current situation of small-scale fishers overseas and social collaboration among small-scale fishers in Japan

The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, from the standpoint of proposing production that contributes to the promotion of a sustainable blue economy, has been holding discussions on the decline of marine living resources, their conservation, and sustainable use, and has been conducting research on domestic and international cases and policy dialogues. Masanori Kobayashi of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation cites the following as an example of a Japanese initiative that has attracted global attention:Artificial reefs made from oyster shells, coral regeneration through cross-industry collaboration, and the raising and sale of sea urchins removed as a measure against coastal erosion are examples of activities undertaken by fishermen, volunteers, private companies, and others.He introduced examples of local governments working together to utilize resources, saying, "Community-based social collaboration initiatives are beginning to take shape."

Meanwhile, overseas,The need to develop and implement policies to secure the long-term interests of those involved in the fishing industry, including small-scale fishers, including those dealing with issues such as resource allocation between local fishing companies and small-scale fishers, the impact of climate change, preventing overfishing, and quality control, as well as ensuring the implementation of Pakistan's fishing net regulations.In South Africa and Namibia, which are traditionally fishing nations, fish catches are declining and stagnating, and imports of seafood are increasing.Issues to assess the current situation and consider responsesTherefore, the Sasakawa Peace FoundationLeadership development programs for the blue economyWe are currently holding discussions in collaboration with universities in the Philippines and South Africa.

Introduction of modernization technologies required for small-scale fisheries

The International Pole and Line Foundation (IPNLF) is an organization that works with fishermen, citizens, businesses, and governments to improve the sustainability of pole-and-line and handline tuna fisheries. Martin Purves of IPNLF pointed out that "the first issue that needs to be addressed is harmful fisheries subsidies that encourage overfishing and excessive fishing and hinder marine conservation." He emphasized, "Many of these subsidies are allocated to large-scale fishing, putting pressure on small-scale fisheries around the world. Instead, subsidies should be used to modernize small-scale fisheries, build the capacity of fishermen, and encourage fishing methods that have a lower environmental impact."

He continued, "Small-scale fisheries can aim to increase their incomes by utilizing renewable energy, such as by using solar power in ice makers. The introduction of low-cost electronic monitoring systems that place little burden on the entire supply chain must also be considered. The use of AI in the fields of data collection and analysis is also required to improve fishing efficiency and promote technological innovation. It is also important for financial institutions to take action to lend to the efforts of small-scale businesses that are struggling financially. All stakeholders in the fisheries industry must work together to create an environment that makes it easy for small-scale fishers to adopt new technologies, so that they are not left behind."

Discussion: Barriers and solutions to technology adoption among small-scale fishers

Following the presentations, Kazuo Hanaoka of Seafood Legacy asked how new technology should be incorporated into actual fishing operations. Tsuda responded, "I think that real-time data collection is particularly important, but to get fishermen to collect data and provide it in real time, I think we need some kind of incentive, such as increasing subsidy rates, or even a system that makes it mandatory," pointing out that there are indeed calls for systems and rules among fishermen themselves.

Kumei proposed a system in which "fishermen receiving government subsidies would be required to share data," citing the fact that fishing is a job that goes beyond supplying protein and is increasingly seen as a public interest activity, with expectations of it playing a role in environmental conservation. Hazama commented, "Awareness of data sharing is becoming more common among young fishermen. I hope that this change in attitude will accelerate even further in the future."

Kobayashi pointed out that small-scale fishers lack the financial and human resources to install data collection equipment, and that there is also the issue of how to demonstrate to fishers the recovery of resource abundance and profits through data collection. He also said, "Because there are differences in catch volume and profits between fishers who catch different fish species even in the same coastal area, it would be useful to consider, with the help of external experts, a system to increase catch volume and profits for all fishers."

Martin pointed out that "data gives small-scale fishers a competitive advantage, and they often refuse to share it," but added that "large-scale fisheries are advancing data sharing and technological innovation, so we need to bridge the gap between the two." He also said, "Data is the key to catching more fish.""It should be used for resource management, not for economic gain."

While reaffirming the importance of small-scale coastal fisheries, we were able to discuss challenges in digital transformation and data sharing for future change.

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