JAPANESE DISTANT- WATER FISHERIES: A REVIEW 



HiROSHi Kasahara^ 



ABSTRACT 



Most of the industrialized fisheries of Japan have developed under a licensing system 

 controlled by the central government. Limitations on entry and the allocation of re- 

 sources based on a variety of social and economic considerations have resulted in the 

 development of an extremely diversified industry. 



The postwar expansion of distant-water fisheries greatly accelerated the exploitation 

 of resources in the North Pacific, as well as in many other areas of the world, and has 

 caused numerous international conflicts. In addition to regional conventions for high 

 seas fisheries, various bilateral agreements have been negotiated to cope with problems 

 arising from jurisdictional claims by coastal states. While supporting narrow limits 

 of national jurisdiction and the concept of free access to high seas fishing, Japan has 

 accepted different forms of allocation as a means to accommodate the conflicting interests 

 of the nations involved. Her domestic institutions and organization of the industry have 

 helped the government make pragmatic arrangements with other nations. Whether or 

 not a general agreement on fishery issues can be reached at the new Law of the Sea 

 Conference, Japan will face more and harder international negotiations in view of the 

 general trend of coastal states claiming broader zones of national jurisdiction. 



Each of the main sectors of the Japanese fishing industry, including inshore fisheries, 

 offshore fisheries, distant-water fisheries, and aquacultui'e, now operates under severe 

 constraints. Although the total catch of distant-water fisheries is still increasing due 

 largely to intensified pollack fishing in the Pacific, long-term prospects for further ex- 

 pansion do not appear bright. Little progress has been made in the utilization of 

 abundant resources of unconventional species. Thus, the rapid growth of domestic fish- 

 ery production is unlikely to continue. Increased joint ventures and other business ar- 

 rangements in foreign countries may provide a partial solution. Import decontrol for 

 fishery products would contribute substantially to meeting immediate problems of supply 

 shortage. 



This paper was originally drafted to provide, as 

 part of the NORFISH study under the Wash- 

 ington Sea Grant Program which is supported 

 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Ad- 

 ministration, some background information on 

 the development and the present status of the 

 Japanese high seas fisheries, particularly those 

 which have bearing on various international 

 arrangements in the North Pacific. Since, how- 

 ever, discussions on the future regimes of the 

 sea have been carried out with increasing in- 

 tensity, the emphasis of the paper has shifted 

 somewhat from descriptive information to a 

 more analytical study of the international fishery 



^ Contribution No. 360, College of Fisheries, Univer- 

 sity of Washington. 



'' College of Fisheries, University of Washington, Se- 

 attle, WA 98195. 



problems faced by the Japanese government and 

 industry, as well as the courses of action they 

 are likely to take in response to future changes 

 in international regulatory regimes. The im- 

 portance of the topic in considering future 

 international arrangements for fisheries is ob- 

 vious, for the Japanese and Soviet distant-water 

 fisheries have been among the major sources of 

 international conflicts over fishery matters in 

 various parts of the world. Although emphasis 

 is on the North Pacific, developments in the rest 

 of the world are also covered to the extent that 

 they have bearing upon the situation in the North 

 Pacific. 



The present paper is not a comprehensive 

 study of the Japanese fishing industry to ex- 

 amine closely all sectors of the industry, in- 

 cluding inshore, coastal, and distant-water fish- 

 eries, as well as processing and marketing 



Manuscript accepted January 1972. 



FISHERY BULLETIN: VOL. 70, NO. 2, 1972. 



227 



