Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§49 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
General environmental reference |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Overall responsibility for national fisheries policies lies with the Fisheries Agency in MAFF, while prefectural governments are responsible for local issues, such as management of local fisheries resources. Regarding important policy decision-making, the Fisheries Policy Council (at national level), the Regional Fisheries Coordination Committees (at regional level), and the Sea Area Coordination Committees (at prefectural level) are consulted for opinions depending on the nature of the issue.
|
Keywords
|
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§50 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
General environmental reference |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
The main laws concerning the fisheries sector include: the Fisheries Law (last amended in 2016), the Basic Law on the Fisheries Policy of 2001 (last amended in 2014), the Fisheries Cooperative Association Law (last amended in 2016), the Law to Ensure Sustainable Aquaculture Production of 1999 (last amended in 2014), the Act on the Exercise of the Sovereign Right for Fishery, etc. in the Exclusive Economic Zone of 1996 (last amended in 2014), the Act on Preservation and Control of Living Marine Resources of 1996 (last amended in 2007), and the Act on the Protection of Fishery Resources of 1951 (last amended in 2015). The authorities state that amendments of these laws during the review period did not involve any changes in their substance. In June 2014, the Inland Water Fishery Promotion Act entered into force. The Act aims to restore inland water fishery resources (e.g. the Japanese eel). Under the Act, enterprises engaging in eel aquaculture must obtain a permit from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries as of June 2015.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Sustainable
Natural resources
Conservation
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§51 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
General environmental reference |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Policy for the fisheries sector is set out in the 2012 Basic Plan for Fisheries, unchanged since Japan's previous review. It sets out several objectives for the sector and fishing communities, based on four axes: reconstruction of damage caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake; sustainable use of resources through resource management and sustainable aquaculture; promotion of consumption based on food safety, quality, and promotion; and the improved safety and livelihood of fishing communities.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Sustainable
Natural resources
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§52 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
|
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
The average applied MFN tariff on imports of fish and fish products is 6.2% with a maximum rate of 15% and a standard deviation of 3.7, which indicates that there is not much variation among tariffs, unchanged since Japan's previous review. In addition, other market access measures apply to several species:
• For some tuna and tuna-like species, such as bluefin tuna, southern bluefin tuna and bigeye tuna, Japan has import control systems, including import approval and acknowledgements for imports which, according to the authorities, are in accordance with the conservation and management measures of some tuna regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).
• Import quotas apply to several other species, including herring, cod, mackerel, sardines, and saury. According to the authorities, these measures complement its management of coastal fisheries resources, including total allowable catches (TACs) which apply to some of these species.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Conservation
Natural resources
Wildlife
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§53 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other environmental requirements |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Management of resources is based on several measures, including fishing rights and permits, as well as voluntary resource management supported by the Government.
|
Keywords
|
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§54 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other environmental requirements |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Prefectural governors may grant fishery rights for coastal fishing as well as permits for small- to medium-scale fishing based on prefectural regulations; MAFF may grant permits for large-scale off-shore and distant-water fishing as well as specified fishing methods for certain species. In accordance with the Act on Promotion of Inland Water Fisheries enacted in June 2014, inland water aquaculture enterprises may, where necessary, become subject to permit systems to ensure sustainable use of fisheries resources. Pursuant to the Act, eel aquaculture enterprises have been subject to a permit system since June 2015 in order to manage eel resources, and an upper limit on the number of juvenile eels (glass eels) per pond was established to limit production.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Sustainable
Natural resources
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§55 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other price and market based measures |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
TACs (total allowable catches) are set for seven species by the Fisheries Agency based on estimates of allowable biological catch and other factors and in consultation with different stakeholders. The authorities state that, based on a report issued in July 2014 by an ad hoc Task Force on Fisheries Resource Management, an expert meeting established by the Fisheries Agency, the TACs have been set as equivalent to the allowable biological catches as a general rule since the fishing season of 2015. According to the authorities, efforts have been made to ensure that the TAC conforms to the allowable biological catch and individual quota systems have been introduced for three species, including Atlantic bluefin tuna and southern bluefin tuna.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Natural resources
Bio
Wildlife
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§56 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other environmental requirements |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Fishery organizations must prepare and implement resource-management plans in line with the guidelines developed by the central government or prefectural authorities. As at end March 2016, 1,868 resource-management plans had been prepared.
|
Keywords
|
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§57 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other measures |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Several measures have been taken to prevent and deter illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, through bilateral cooperation and information-sharing efforts, and through regional fisheries management organizations, for example vessel-monitoring systems and trade-related measures such as statistical document programmes and catch documentation systems.
|
Keywords
|
|
|
Secretariat TPR |
WT/TPR/S/351/REV.1 |
S-IV§58 |
Japan |
2017 |
Sectors |
Other measures |
Fisheries |
Relevant information
|
Japan is a member of a number of international and regional fishery organizations [38] and has intergovernmental agreements with Australia, Canada, China, France, Kiribati, the Republic of Korea, Marshall Islands, Morocco, the Russian Federation, Solomon Islands, Senegal, and Tuvalu. The agreements with Australia, Canada, and France do not provide for access by Japanese fishing vessels and the agreements with China, the Republic of Korea, and the Russian Federation are mutual access agreements allowing reciprocal access to each country's EEZ. In addition, there are numerous private-sector-based agreements which provide for access to the waters of other countries and territories (Cabo Verde, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Fiji, Gabon, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mauritius, Micronesia, Mozambique, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, St. Helena, and Tanzania).
[38] Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT), Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT), General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), South East Atlantic Fishery Organization (SEAFO), Convention on the Conservation and Management of Pollock Resources in the Central Bering Sea (CCBSP), North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources, and Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO). Japan joined the South Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement (SIOFA) in June 2014. The Convention of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC), which Japan joined in July 2013, became effective in July 2015.
|
Keywords
|
Fish
Conservation
Natural resources
|
|