Number of Vessels 



D Total 



H Total Tuna 



LLlTuna Longliner 



QDriftnat-Squid 



[j^ Trawlers 



I ISquid Jigging* 



[_jTuna Pole-and-Line 

 HTuna Purs* Seine 



1980 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 

 Source: The Japanese Ministry of Agriculture. Forestry, and Usheries; Statistics and Information. 

 " Statistics do not distinguish between coastal and distant-water squid jiggers until 1990. 



Figure 1. Japan. Number of disiani-waier fishery vessels, hy vessel r\pe: 1985-91. 



I. Distant-water Fishing Fleets 



Fleet statistics from Lloyd's of London for 

 Japanese fishing vessels having more than 500 gross 

 registered tons indicate that the Japanese distant-water 

 fleet is rapidly diminishing in size (appendix A). The 

 total number of Japanese fishing vessels decreased 

 more than threefold from 1975 to 1992, with vessels 

 in the 500-999GRT class showing the most dramatic 

 decrease. In addition, the number of Japanese fishing 

 vessels having more than lOOGRT has declined since 

 1989 (appendices B and C). The decline has been 

 particularly pronounced in the larger size classes 

 (appendix C, figure 1), which consist mostly of factory 

 trawlers. 



The distant-water fleet has decreased dramatically, 

 from 2,008 vessels in 1989 to 1,521 vessels in 1991 

 (appendix D). Distant-water trawlers, particularly 

 those engaged in the North Pacific, showed the most 

 dramatic reductions in fleet size. The only distant- 

 water fleet showing growth was the Japanese distant- 

 water tuna purse seine fleet. 



Japanese catch statistics also indicate an industry in 

 decline (appendix E). The overall catch peaked at 12.8 

 million tons (t) in 1988, and has decreased significantly 

 in each succeeding year, falling to 10.0 million t in 



1 99 1 . The share of the total Japanese catch contributed 

 by distant-water fishing has also decreased steadily 

 over the years from 20 percent in 1980 to 12 percent 

 in 1991. All indications are that this trend will 

 continue into the next century. 



From a peak catch of 2.5 million t in 1987, the 

 Japanese distant-water catch has fallen nearly 50 

 percent to 1.2 million t in 1991 (appendix E). By 

 vessel type, the most pronounced decreases were in the 

 trawl fisheries, particularly the North Pacific trawl 

 fisheries. The only gear type which showed consistent 

 growth between 1989-91 was the tuna purse seine 

 catch, which increased nearly 40 percent (appendix F, 

 figure 2). 



A. Trawlers' 



The Japanese distant-water trawl fleet numbered 

 445 vessels in 1980, but decreased steadily during the 

 next 10 years to a total of only 215 trawlers in 1991 

 (appendix D). The primary reasons for this decrease 

 are the demise of the so-called donut hole fishery in the 

 Central Bering Sea and the increasingly scarce 

 allocations of foreign coastal groundfish resources (e.g. 

 South Africa). 



Tliere are five basic classifications of distant-water 

 Japanese trawlers: northern, converted {tenkan). 



27 



