Fisheries Law

What is the Fisheries Act?

The Fisheries Law is the basic law that defines fishing rights and rules in Japan. Officially known as the Fisheries Law (Act No. 267 of 1949), it was enacted in 24 based on the Meiji Fisheries Law of 1901 and came into effect in 1950. It was then significantly revised in 2018 for the first time in 70 years, and clearly stated that "sustainable use and conservation of marine resources" was required. This "New Fisheries Law" came into full effect in 2020.

Objectives and main areas of regulation

The Fisheries Law aims to "ensure the sustainable use of fishery resources" and "preserve and manage fishery resources," and aims to develop fishing productivity through fishing rights, fishing permit systems, and fishery adjustment mechanisms.

When the Fisheries Act came into force in 1950, it was established with the aim of promoting fisheries production and democratization after the war. Since then, it has mainly regulated the following areas up to the present day.

- Fishing rights system (fixed fishing rights, division fishing rights, common fishing rights, etc.)
・Permitted fishing system (minister/governor license)
・Adjustment mechanism by the Fisheries Adjustment Committee
- Fishing ground planning and management, penalties

For details on the Fisheries Act, click here

Background to the revision of the Fisheries Law

In 1949, shortly after the end of the war, resource management was not a consideration, and the focus was on issues related to postwar institutional reforms and re-entry into international fishing grounds, such as the types and content of fishing rights and the increase in ministerially licensed fishing due to larger fishing vessels.*1 It can be said that the focus was particularly on democratization in terms of who would use the sea surface and fishing grounds and who would benefit.

After the law was enacted, Japan's fishing production continued to increase. In 1977, an exclusive economic zone (EEZ) was established, which meant that fishing outside the country was no longer permitted, but Japan's production increased dramatically due to a sharp increase in the catch of sardines. However, there has since been no halt to the decline in catches of sardines and other fish, which were the main target of fishing. As a result, the resource levels of approximately half of the 45 fish species that live around Japan are now so low that they are considered difficult to reproduce.

In response to this situation, the Fisheries Agency made major revisions to the Fisheries Act in December 2018 for the first time in approximately 70 years, with the aim of preventing and mitigating resource decline through appropriate resource management.

*1 https://www.nochuri.co.jp/report/pdf/r0503in1.pdf

Left: Trends in Japan's fisheries production and changes in the situation surrounding the fishing industry (

From the 2019 Fisheries White Paper）
Right: Resource levels around Japan (45 fish species, 73 stocks, assessed using three categories: high, medium, and low)From the 2 Fisheries White Paper）

Two key points of the Fisheries Law amendment

The biggest change is that the purpose of the law is now clearly stated as "sustainable use and conservation of fishery resources." Furthermore, the law has been revised to promote management based on scientific evidence more than ever before, and this has marked a clear shift in the legal framework for fisheries to address sustainability.

Before the amendment, resource management (input control and technical control) through restrictions on operations such as the number of vessels, fishing gear, and fishing methods was the norm, but after the amendment, management changed to "catch restriction (output control)" type.

There are two major policy points.
First, we have conducted resource surveys and assessments, focusing on fisheries with large catches, in order to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY).Act on the Conservation and Management of Living Marine Resources) which set upper limits on catches for eight fish species.TotalAllowable catch (TA)C)By setting an overall catch limit, it will be possible to prevent overfishing overall.

Currently, TACs have been set for eight species: saury, walleye pollock, horse mackerel, sardine, mackerel (chub mackerel and bluefin tuna), Japanese flying squid, snow crab, and bluefin tuna, covering approximately 60% of Japan's total catch. The goal is to increase the number of fish species subject to TACs to cover 80% of Japan's total catch by 2025*2.

The second point isIQ (Individual Quota) systemWe are hiring.
Since TAC is a total quantity control, there is a possibility of competition among fishermen to catch fish first.* Therefore, the Fisheries Act has been amended to allocate catch amounts to each fisherman or fishing vessel for TAC-controlled fish species.IQ methodThe IQ method has been adopted for international stocks such as southern bluefin tuna and Atlantic bluefin tuna, as well as for red snow crab, but by fiscal year 2023 it will be introduced to 11 fishing methods and resources under ministerially managed fisheries*3*4.

In addition, as the decline in the number of fishermen and their aging become more serious issues, the fishing license system and the fishing rights system were also revised to make it easier for new entrants to enter the industry*5.

2 Fisheries Agency New Resource Management in 2.6p
3 Fisheries permitted by the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries that involve fishing off the coast of multiple prefectures or overseas..
4 Fisheries Agency, Resource Management Room, (7) IQ (fishing quota) management
5 Key points of fisheries policy reform (New Fisheries Law, etc.)

Improving the accuracy of resource management and research

In order to advance TAC and IQ, it is important to carry out "resource assessments," which scientifically estimate the current number of fish based on catch information and ecological information. In 2020, two years after the revision of the Fisheries Act, the government will implement a "resource assessment" to promote resource management.New RoadmapThe government announced that it would "expand the number of fish species subject to resource assessment from 50 to 192 by the end of fiscal year 23, and the number of target resources from 8 species and 18 resources to 27 species and 47 resources"*6. However, some fisheries companies have expressed their desire to "improve the accuracy of resource assessment. We would like more budget to be allocated to resource assessment, increasing the number of personnel required for this, and introducing new equipment, so that more accurate data can be obtained"*7.

In the future, it will be necessary to steadily advance resource management by expanding the range of fish species subject to resource management while striving to improve quality.