In 30 years, will we be able to bring fish to the dinner table? This was the central theme at the 3rd Tokyo University – The Nippon Foundation Ocean Alliance Symposium held this past March in Tokyo.

The subtitle of the symposium was "Looming Crisis for the Dinner Table,” reflecting rising concerns about the effects of over-fishing and diminishing fish stocks around the world.

The 3rd Tokyo University – The Nippon Foundation Ocean Alliance Symposium (Photo, Katsunori Ishii)

The underlying opinion of symposium participants was that, while it is important to balance consumer needs for fish, including blue fin tuna, a strict approach to our consumption of ocean resources is absolutely necessary.

While recent international talks avoided a complete ban on selling Atlantic and Mediterranean blue fin, it was recognized that an eco-friendly approach to fishing was necessary, including eco-labeled products in fish markets.

Additionally, a new approach to retail marketing and consumption was suggested by Nobel Economics Prize laureate Dr Elinor Ostrom of Indiana University. Dr Ostrom suggested that the best solution in a dispute over a shared property is to seek an active human resolution rather than to leave things up to market forces. She added that distribution and consumption need to be effectively and successfully managed.

Symposium experts suggested that this concept should be applied to fishing and seafood distribution.

Professor Kazuhiro Kogura of Tokyo University’s Ocean Research Institute reflected on Japan's postwar industrial rise, commenting that in the that period, countries reveled in the bounties of nature, but that but that this also led to environmental destruction. He said people must now consider the environment and ecosystems. They must rethink the fishing industry so that the consumption of fish is based on adequate information.

Experts said there is a possibility of a domino effect occurring in regard to fishing bans, if appropriate steps are not taken to strictly conserve resources.

It is projected that the demand for seafood will increase markedly over the next 30 years, and that steps must be taken at national and international levels to ensure that the world does not run out of fish.