Japan reports record low seafood catch – but there’s still plenty of salmon and anchovies
- Rising sea temperatures and overfishing have been blamed for Japan’s declining catches of sardines, mackerels, saury and Japanese flying squid
- But it wasn’t all bad, with double-digit increases for salmon and anchovy – as well as for cultured species such as scallops and eels
The total, which includes farm-grown fish, was the lowest figure since comparable data became available in 1956 and marked a second consecutive year of decline, according to the data released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.
The annual white paper on fisheries, released on Tuesday, said that poor catches are likely to continue in the long term due to rising sea temperatures.
By category, saury slipped 5.6 per cent from the previous year to 18,400 tonnes, while Japanese flying squid fell 8.3 per cent to 29,700 tonnes and octopus dropped 18.7 per cent to 22,200 tonnes – all record lows, the data showed.
Sardine was down 4.2 per cent to 613,200 tonnes due to poor catches in Miyagi and Aichi prefectures, while mackerel declined 28.5 per cent to 315,900 tonnes, dragged down by low figures in Ibaraki and Mie prefectures, according to the data.
Apart from climate change, overfishing has also been a factor in the decline in catches, with the Japanese government working to strengthen regulations.
To better understand and manage resources, the government has said it aims to increase the number of marine species it monitors from 50 in 2018 to around 200 by the end of this financial year.