Vietnam tuna catches face penalties in Japan

The Japan Fisheries Agency plans to control catches of Pacific Bluefin tuna, a fish species under threat of extinction, by applying the total allowable catch (TAC) system with a legal clause that would impose penalties on violators, sources close to the issue said.

Under the TAC system, the agency will decide in advance on volumes of Pacific Bluefin tuna that fishermen will be allowed to catch to control the marine resource.

The total allowable catch system sets limits on annual catch volumes in advance to control marine resources. Japan introduced the system in 1997. Currently, seven species — saury, Alaska pollack, horse mackerel, sardines, chub and spotted mackerel, Japanese common squid and snow crab — are subject to the system.

The selection of species for the list has been decided based on such factors as importance to the daily life of the Japanese public and whether catch volumes are large or inconsequential.

Member countries of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), for which Vietnam is a cooperating non-member, had reached an agreement to halve catch volumes of immature Pacific Bluefin tuna from 2015 onward.

WCPFC is an international organization that manages Pacific Bluefin tuna as a resource.

However, dishonest practices such as falsely reporting catch volumes have been rampant in the industry worldwide. Thus, the Japanese agency decided to introduce stricter controls on both domestic catches and imports.

The agency also hopes to demonstrate to the international community that Japan is taking a rigorous approach to managing marine resources by adding Bluefin tuna to the TAC system list.