Yuki Tsuda has decided to dedicate 10 years of his life to the fishing industry in Ishinomaki, and has been running with Fisherman Japan. In order to breathe new life into the local fishing industry, they are expanding their sales channels to the world. Fisherman Japan has also turned its attention to bigger issues, such as marine environmental conservation, and is expanding its activities.
In Part 2, we will talk about the Fisherman Japan Blue Fund, which was established in 2023, and the Fisheries Future Summit @ Sanriku, which was held in March this year. We also asked him to look back on the 3 years since the founding of Fisherman Japan in 2014 and share his thoughts on the current situation.
--The Fisherman Japan Blue Fund was established in 2023. Please tell us about the background to its establishment and the characteristics of the fund.
As I work to promote the fishing industry, I have noticed changes in the marine environment, especially over the past five years. The fishing industry is just one piece of content that depends on the large platform of the ocean. Now that the marine environment, which is the foundation of the industry, is starting to deteriorate, I felt that something had to be done.
However, the issues surrounding the ocean, such as marine environmental conservation, resource management, and IUU fishing, are so large that I didn't know how to raise funds to solve them through business. That's when I discovered a method called "anonymous partnership investment." This is a method that allows you to provide funds without having control over the investment target, and even general incorporated associations and individuals with no capital can invest.
Currently, we have two investments. One is a Fukuoka-based company called Benners Co., Ltd., which is developing a technology to cook and sell delicious predatory fish that cause coastal denudation and were previously targeted for extermination. The other is a Mie-based company called REMARE Co., Ltd., which collects and recycles marine plastic (mainly fishing gear). They make a profit by selling it to apparel manufacturers and others. At first, we had a hard time attracting investors, but we believe that as the performance of these two companies improves, so will the number of investors. We plan to increase the number of investments in the future.
--The Fisheries Future Summit in Sanriku was also held in March 2024. What was the content of the summit?
In order to reform Japan's fishing industry, each and every fishery business operator and fisherman must change. However, the reality is that the content of discussions at international organizations and large-scale events is not well known among fishermen on the ground. The Fisheries Future Summit was planned to bridge this gap, and was held with the goal of bringing together fishermen and fishing companies to collaborate, share, and discuss, and to implement action plans as projects.
On the first day, a panel discussion was held by fishermen and fishery companies active in the field from all over the country, and on the second day, participants were divided into several dozen groups for table discussions and created action plans. Based on those plans, 1 projects were put into motion. The themes were wide-ranging, including policy recommendations for resource management and fishery budget allocation, and awareness-raising activities for the spread of sustainable seafood, and efforts are underway to achieve certain results by the second summit, scheduled to be held in Kagoshima next year.
Rather than digging from one side, like building a tunnel, I hope we can promote sustainability by digging from both the upstream and downstream sides of the fishing industry.
INTERVIEWER What do you think seafood distributors can do to help sustain Japan's fishing industry?
I think there is only one thing we can do: to properly communicate information to consumers. The businesses that have obtained MSC and ASC certification in Miyagi have obtained the certification in order to say that they are doing the right thing. However, the cost is not reflected in the price of the fish. I think that this cost should be borne by the entire value chain, or by consumers, who are the primary beneficiaries.
Japanese consumers would never imagine that the fish on display in supermarkets in their country were caught through IUU fishing. However, if consumers know the facts and demand sustainable fish, distributors and fishermen will have no choice but to change. It is important to first make consumers aware of the issue. That is why we want to continue to disseminate information, and to do so we believe that the power of media and entertainment is also necessary. If you can explain difficult things in an enjoyable way, many people will be willing to listen.
--Looking back on the 2014 years since you launched Fisherman Japan in 10, what do you think about Japan's fishing industry?
After experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake, I have been doing whatever I can without fear of criticism or failure for the past 10 years, with the belief that "you never know when you're going to die." I think that the disaster has been a catalyst for great advances in the Sanriku fisheries industry. I think it can be said that the facilities, ingenuity, and processing techniques have reached the highest level. The next challenge is that fish are becoming harder to catch. This is due not only to changes in the marine environment, but also to man-made causes such as overfishing, and I believe that we, the fisheries business operators in Sanriku, must lead the industry in order to solve these problems. I would like to change Japan's fisheries industry with the know-how I have accumulated over the past 10 years.
Mr. Tsuda has traveled not only in Japan but all over the world to promote the fishing industry. In the photo, he is teaching how to kill fish in Tanzania.
It is said that the global environment will worsen on a global scale in a few decades. On the other hand, there are also opinions that climate change will repeat itself in the longer term, and there is no point in arguing. If in the future the sea temperature drops and we can catch fish again, the activities we are desperately doing now may seem ridiculous. We think that's fine. However, if we can no longer catch fish in a few decades, wouldn't you hate it if your children asked you, "Why didn't you do anything back then?" That's why we want to continue doing what we can in the future so that we have no regrets.
Yuki Tsuda
Born in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture in 981. Graduated from the Graduate School of Business at Globis University with a Master's degree. While working in his family's seafood retail and wholesale business, he experienced the Great East Japan Earthquake. In 2014, he founded the General Incorporated Association Fisherman Japan with several young fishermen to solve issues such as a lack of successors in the local fishing industry. In 2016, he became the CEO of Fisherman Japan Marketing Co., Ltd., the sales division of Fisherman Japan.
Interviewed and written by: Shino Kawasaki
After working on planning and editing corporate advertisements, she became a freelance writer, copywriter, and food coordinator in 2016. She writes about a wide range of topics, including food, medicine, housing, and fashion.
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Key terms and concepts to understand seafood sustainability.
