KASAHARA: JAPANESE DISTANT-WATER FISHERIES 



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Figure 18.— Imports and exports of fishery products, 

 1959-69 (from Suisan-sha, 1970). Pearls are excluded. 

 Figures for 1969 are estimates. ¥360 per dollar. 



The liberalization of the import of fishery 

 products began only in 1960, and a major change 

 took place in 1961 when a number of fresh and 

 frozen fishes and shellfishes were removed from 

 the list of restricted items. Many items, how- 

 ever, still remain on the list mainly to protect 

 the interests of inshore and coastal fisheries. 

 The Japanese system of control of fishery im- 

 ports is quite complicated. An attempt is made 

 below to describe it briefly (from Suisan-sha, 



1970). 



As of 1970, all imports of fishery products 

 fell under two categories: those which are not 

 subject to quotas (Automatic Approval System, 

 abbreviated AA) and those which are subject 

 to quotas (Import Quota System, IQ). Among 

 important AA items are a number of fresh or 

 frozen fishes and shellfishes, including shrimp, 

 tunas (including skipjack), swordfish, salmon, 

 porgies, etc.; most of the canned fishes; and 

 whale meat. Among important IQ items are 

 a variety of fresh and frozen fishes, including 

 herring, cod and pollack, yellowtail, mackerels, 

 sardines and anchovy, jack mackerels, saury, cod 

 (or pollack) roe, herring roe, as well as salted, 

 dried, or smoked products of these species; laver 

 and kelps ; fish meal and whale meal, as well as 

 mixed feeds or fish solubles; and fresh, frozen, 

 or dried squid and cuttlefish. As Japan is now 

 a party to IMF (International Monetary Fund) 

 Article 8, all quotas are in principle on a global 

 basis. A special quota system, however, is ap- 

 plied to imports of fishes and shellfishes caught 



in coastal waters of South Korea; they can be 

 imported within a fixed total value. 



In terms of total value, shrimp (from the 

 People's Republic of China, United States, Mex- 

 ico, Thailand, and a number of other sources) 

 has been the number one import item in recent 

 years. Other important products imported are 

 fish meal from Peru and South Africa, dry laver 

 from South Korea, cuttlefish and octopus from 

 West African fisheries (presumably shipped 

 through Las Palmas), and tunas from Taiwan, 

 Ryukyu, and South Korea. 



Reviewing the actual quotas applied, it is ob- 

 vious that import restrictions are still quite se- 

 vere for some products. The amount of laver 

 imported from South Korea has been controlled 

 strictly to protect domestic laver culture, which 

 is one of the most important sectors of the Jap- 

 anese fishing industry. The amount of imported 

 fish meal is also controlled to protect fish meal 

 manufacturing in Japan both aboard factory- 

 ships and ashore. In addition, the quantity of 

 fish that can be purchased from foreign coun- 

 tries as raw material for fish meal (mainly pol- 

 lack from the Soviet Union) is restricted. Some 

 of the products which fetch extremely high prices 

 are also tightly controlled. These include her- 

 ring roe, as well as herring used for making dry 

 herring and roe, cod and pollack roe, cuttlefish 

 from West Africa, and some others. 



Excepting laver, imports from South Korea 

 are decreasing due largely to limited production 

 in Korean coastal waters and growing domestic 

 demand in Korea. In 1970, mackerels and jack 

 mackerels, which had previously been excluded 

 from items to be imported, were added to the list 

 of products under the special value quota. The 

 actual imports of these two forms in 1970 were 

 very little because of strong demand in Korea. 

 Future trend may be for the import of cul- 

 tured oysters (just started) and clams, since 

 Korea has a great potential for aquaculture in 

 shallow waters. As Korea plans to expand her 

 distant-water trawl fisheries in the North Pa- 

 cific and West Africa, there may be pressure 

 for increased imports of j)roducts from this 

 source. Presumably, they will come under the 

 global quotas of respective items. 



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