Building the Future after the Earthquake Disaster - A Story of a Leader Who Tries to Revive the Japanese Seafood Industry (Part 2)
INTERVIEW
Yuki Tsuda has been together with Fisherman Japan ever since he decided to dedicate 10 years of his life to the seafood industry in Ishinomaki. In an effort to breathe new life into the local seafood industry, they are expanding their sales channels to the world. Also, Fisherman Japan is further developing its activities, focusing on larger issues such as marine environment conservation.
In the second part, we will talk about the Fisherman Japan Blue Fund established in 2023 and the Seafood Future Summit at Sanriku held this March. Mr. Tsuda also looked back on the 10 years since the establishment of Fisherman Japan in 2014 and shared his current thoughts.
–You established the Fisherman Japan Blue Fund in 2023. Please tell us about the background of its establishment and the features of the fund.
As we work to promote the seafood industry, what I feel especially in the last five years is the change in the marine environment. The seafood industry is only one kind of content that depends on the ocean as a large platform. Now that the marine environment, which is the foundation of the industry, is beginning to break down, I felt that something had to be done.
However, the issues surrounding the ocean, such as marine environment conservation, stock management, and IUU fishing, are so great that I did not know how to raise funds to solve them with the power of business. That is when I found the “silent partner investment” method. This method allows general associations and individuals without capital to invest without having a controlling interest in the investment.
However, the issues surrounding the ocean, such as marine environment conservation, stock management, and IUU fishing, are so great that I did not know how to raise funds to solve them with the power of business. That is when I found the “silent partner investment” method. This method allows general associations and individuals without capital to invest without having a controlling interest in the investment.
–In March 2024, the Fisheries Future Summit at Sanriku was also held. What was the content of the event?
In order to reform Japan’s seafood industry, each fisherman and fisheries business must change. However, what is being discussed at international organizations and large-scale events is not well known to fishermen on-site. The Fisheries Future Summit was started to bridge that gap by bringing together fishermen and seafood companies to collaborate, share, discuss, and implement action plans as projects.
On the first day, a panel discussion was held by active fishermen from across the country and seafood companies. On the second day, the participants were divided into dozens of groups and held table discussions to create action plans. Based on these plans, 15 projects were launched. The projects cover a wide range of themes, including stock management, policy proposals for seafood budget allocation, and educational activities to promote sustainable seafood. We are working to achieve certain results by the time of the second Summit, which is scheduled to be held in Kagoshima next year.
Like building a tunnel, we would like to promote sustainability by digging from both upstream and downstream sides of the seafood industry, rather than digging from only one side. It is with this in mind that we are engaged in this activity.
–What do you think seafood distributors and retailers can do to make Japan’s seafood industry sutstainable?
I believe the only way to do this is to properly inform consumers. The businesses in Miyagi Prefecture that have obtained MSC and ASC certification have done so in order to say that what is right is right. However, this cost is not reflected in the price of the fish. I believe that this cost should be borne by the entire value chain or by consumers, who are the biggest beneficiaries.
Japanese consumers do not expect to find fish caught in IUU fisheries among the fish on the supermarket shelves in their country. However, if consumers become aware of the facts and demand sustainable fish, distributors and producers will have no choice but to change. First of all, it is important to make consumers aware of the situation. Because of that, we will continue to disseminate information, and we believe that the power of the media and entertainment is also needed to do so. We believe that if we can communicate difficult information in a fun way, there will be many people who will listen.
–Looking back on the past 10 years since you launched Fisherman Japan in 2014, what do you think about the Japanese seafodd industry?
After experiencing the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami in 2011, I have spent the past 10 years doing whatever I could without fear of criticism or failure, because you never know when you will die. I believe that Sanriku’s seafood industry has evolved greatly since the disaster. I think we can say that facilities, ingenuity, and processing technology have reached the highest level. And now the next challenge is that we are becoming unable to catch fish. This is not only due to changes in the marine environment, but also to human factors such as overfishing, and I believe that we, the seafood businesses in Sanriku, must lead the industry to solve these problems. I would like to use the skills I have accumulated over the past 10 years to make a difference in the Japanese seafood industry.
Mr. Tsuda has traveled around Japan and the world to promote the seafood industry.
It is said that in a few decades the global environment will be worse than it is now on a global scale. On the other hand, there are those who argue that in the longer run, climate change repeats itself and there is no point in arguing about it. If in the future sea temperatures drop and we are able to catch fish again, our current frantic activities may seem ludicrous. We are fine with that. However, if we really become unable to catch fish in a couple of decades, we don’t want our children to blame us for not doing anything. We will continue to do what we can so that we don’t have any regrets.
Yuki Tsuda
Born in Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture in 1981. Completed a master’s degree in business administration at the Graduate School of Management, GLOBIS University. While he was running his family’s seafood retail and wholesale business, the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami happened. In 2014, he founded the general incorporated association Fisherman Japan with several young fishermen to address the lack of successors in the local fisheries industry, among other problems. In 2016, he was appointed President and Representative Director of Fisherman Japan Marketing, the sales division of Fisherman Japan.
Original Japanese text by: Shino Kawasaki
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