This document summarizes Japan's fisheries management system. It discusses: 1) Japan determines annual total allowable catches (TACs) for key fisheries based on scientific stock assessments by the Fisheries Research Agency. TACs may exceed the allowable biological catch amount based on socioeconomic factors. 2) Fisheries Cooperative Associations collect catch data that is provided to management authorities. Fishing stops when the TAC is reached to prevent overfishing. 3) Community-based fisheries management involves local fishing groups establishing additional rules to sustainably manage local fisheries within national policies.

1. Fisheries Management
in Japan
資源管理の原状
1
Takashi Matsuishi, Ph. D.
Associate Prof. Hokkaido Univ.
北海道大学大学院水産科学研究院
准教授 松石 隆

2. United Nations Convention
on the Law of the Sea 国際海洋法条約
• Since the ratification of the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the
Sea in 1996 国際海洋法批准
• The scientific assessments of fishery
stocks have been increasingly important.
• The Convention mandated the
management of living resources in EEZ
2

3. Management in the Convention
For the living resources in EEZ
Coastal nation should
–determine allowable catch
–maintain
–through proper conservation and
management measure
–taking into account the best scientific
evidence available
3

4. Japanese Fishery Management
Output Control
• Total Allowable Catch (TAC)
• Allowable Biological Catch (ABC)
Input Control
• Fishing Right / Fishing License
• Fish Boat Registration
Implementation
• Community Based Fishery Management
– FCA member / Small Groups
4

5. Procedure of TAC
management
in Japan
5

6. Organizations
concerning to fishery management
FA Fishery Agency 水産庁
A part of National Government
FRA Fisheries Research Agency 水研
A Research Agency ordered from FA
FEC Fisheries Experimental Centre 水試
Research Centre of Local
Government
FCA Fishery Cooperative Association 漁協
An association of fishers
6

7. Outline
1. Data collection by FEC and FRA
2. Stock assessment by FRA and determine the
Allowable Biological Catch (ABC)
3. Determine the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) by
FA of Japan, and distribute the quota to various
fisheries
4. Catch statistics are collected from FCA and
archived in FA
5. If cumulative catch reaches to TAC, FA order to
stop the fishing operation
7

8. 1. Data Collection
Target stocks
– 44 species 76 stocks
– Only for coastal stocks (excluding
international stocks such as salmon, tunas
etc)
FEC Fisheries Experimental Centre
– FEC in 46 prefectures
– They collect catch statistics, length
composition, age composition, sex ratio,
maturity, etc.
8

9. 2. Stock assessment / FRA
• Stock assessment sheet;
• Basic biology and ecology of the stock
• Current stock and fisheries status
• Ecosystem consideration
• Population Estimation
• Virtual Population Analysis
• Acoustic Survey Analysis etc.
• Prediction of the future population dynamics
• Allowable Biological Catch ABC in the next year
• Researchers in Universities join as
reviewers for determining the ABC
9

10. 3. Total Allowable Catch / FA
• Target stocks: 8 species 19 stocks
• Determined based on ABC taking into
account the socio-economic
considerations
• TAC sometimes exceeds ABC
10

11. 4. Catch statistics collection
• In Japan, almost all of the catch is
landed at the port of FCA, weighted and
auctioned by FCA.
• FCA collected the total weight of the
TAC target fish everyday, and reported
to FA via local government.
11

12. 5. Regulation
• Yearly total catch of the species should
be under TAC.
• Fishery will be stopped by orders of FA
when the total catch reaches to TAC.
• FCA and Fishers’ group voluntarily
manage to avoid the stopping by
reducing the fishing effort if necessary
CBFM
12

13. TAC Regulated Fish
13
English Name 標準和名 Scientific Name
Pacific saury サンマ Cololabis saira
Walleye Pollock スケトウダラ Theragra chalcogramma
Horse mackerel マアジ Trachurus japonicus
Sardine マイワシ Sardinops melanostictus
Mackerel マサバ/
Southern mackerel ゴマサバ
Scomber japonicus /
Scomber australasicus
Japanese common flying
squid スルメイカ
Todarodes pacificus
Snow crab ズワイガニ Chionoecetes opilio
Species under TAC regulation

14. ABC and TAC (2011)
14
Species Name ABC(t) TAC(t) TAC/ABC
Saury 739,000 423,000 57%
Pollock 230,400 288,000 125%
Horse mackerel 205,000 220,000 107%
Sardine 260,000 209,000 80%
Mackerels 768,000 717,000 93%
Flying squid 332,000 297,000 89%
Snow crab 4,966 6,227 125%
ABCは再々評価値

15. TAC and Catch (2011)
15
Species Name TAC(t) C(t) C/TAC
Saury 423,000 208,000 49%
Pollock 288,000 239,100 83%
Horse mackerel 220,000 164,000 75%
Sardine 209,000 175,000 84%
Mackerels 717,000 413,000 58%
Flying squid 297,000 209,000 70%
Snow crab 6,227 4,205 68%
TAC:期中改訂後、漁期終了時のTAC
C:漁期終了時の漁獲量（確定値)

16. ABC and Catch(2011)
16
Species Name ABC(t) C(t) C/ABC
Saury 739,000 208,000 28%
Pollock 230,400 239,100 104%
Horse mackerel 205,000 164,000 80%
Sardine 260,000 175,000 67%
Mackerels 768,000 413,000 54%
Flying squid 332,000 209,000 63%
Snow crab 4,966 4,205 85%
ABC:当初ABCのうちTACに使用されたもの
C:漁期終了時の漁獲量（確定値）

17. Community Based
Fishery Management
CBFM
17

18. Community / FCA
• Almost all fisher are belonging to a
Fishery Cooperative Association (FCA)
• Function of FCA
• Auctioning / Sales
• Banking
• Education / Expanding technology
• Fishery Management
18

19. Fishery Management by Community
• FCA has fishers’ group by fishery
• Each group make local rules by consensus to make
a sound fishery management.
• Landing limit
• Operation day / time
• Protected area
• Gears
• Local rule follows national wide regulation
• Scientific data / advices are provided from national /
local government
19

20. Advantage of CBFM
• Easy to implement the nation wide rule
to local area.
• Local Rule follows the nation wide rule
• Local fisher just follow the local rule
• Based on the local situation / experience
• Flexible / Timely
20

21. Basic Equation of Fishery
ΔBiomass＝Recruitment+Growth
－Catch－Natural Mortality
21
Net Income＝Unit Price×Catch
－Costs

22. 22
FIN