A Sea Without Fish Symposium

Sea Without Fish Symposium

This article based on a story in Japanese by Yoshinori Ishii

The issue of rapidly dwindling global fish stocks was recently taken up by maritime experts at the Sea Without Fish Symposium in Tokyo. The need for improved internal and external resource management by all countries was a key point discussed in the gathering.

A major concern expressed by participants was the need to stem the decline of marine resources in oceans all over the world in order to secure a supply for future generations. As an example, it was pointed out that Japan imports about 600 million tons of fish annually and the question was raised whether this was sustainable given recent trends.

Not only is there a decline in marine resources, but the size of fish being caught is also decreasing, said the experts. These important issues and changes in the ecosystem of the oceans require more awareness about sea resources management, they asserted.

This symposium is one of three gatherings of ocean resources experts that The Nippon Foundation has co-hosted with the University of Tokyo’s "Ocean Alliance" since 2009. The symposia have been held to raise awareness about ocean resource issues and to take the initiative in preserving the marine ecosystem for the next generation. The title of the first symposium was the “Looming Crisis on the Dinner Table.”

The Nippon Foundation chairman,Mr Yohei Sasakawa discusses the issue of ocean resources at the opening ceremony of the symposium.

Chairman Sasakawa made the point at the symposium that he was shocked when he read the book “Sea Without Fish” which predicted that fish would might disappear from the sea by the middle of this century. He compared that to the past thinking of a 17th century writer who made the claim that the ocean’s resources were limitless.

It is obvious, said Sasakawa, that the ocean has a limit. Users of the resources must recognize that the situation is very serious, and that there is a genuine possibility that there could be no fish in the sea in the future. He called for Japan, which consumes more fish per capita than any other nation, to take a major role in dealing with this situation.

Symposium speakers included one of the authors of “Sea Without Fish,” Dr. Phillipe Curie, who is Director of the Center for Mediterranean and Tropic Fisheries Center in France; Professor Daniel Pauley, Director of the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Resources Research Institute, University of Tokyo’s Nobuyuki Yagi, Associate Professor of the Agricultural and Life Sciences Department, and Dr Villy Christensen, Professor at the University of British Columbia's Fisheries Centre.

Phillipe Curie of France and Daniel Pauley of British Columbia

Director Curie warned the situation of fish stock depletion over the past 30 years has accelerated and the size of fish is decreasing. If this trend continues, he predicts that fish will have disappeared by the year 2048.

Professor Pauley proposed that overfishing must be stopped, and pointed to the fact that major changes in each marine species is due to global warming. He said that fishing must be reduced to small scale operations.

Professor Yagi, in speaking about the current situation in Japan, mentioned the fact that most of Japan’s fish consumption is based on imports. He called for better internal and external ways to manage the present consumption levels by reducing the waste of imported fish and the need to protect the ocean environment.

Professor Villy Christiansen of the University of British Columbia’s Fisheries Centre, and former program leader for the Fisheries Resources Assessment and Management Program of the International Center for Living Aquatic Resources Management, Manila, Philippines said the problem of a decline in fish cannot be solved by one country alone. All parties must be made aware of this serious situation, in order to achieve the international cooperation and networking needed to solve the issue.

Assistant Professor Yagi and Professor Christiansen

Professor Pauley added that although the Japanese government had considered unilateral conservation measures, the Ministry of Fisheries still recently allowed for the importation and fishing of blue tuna. He asserted this was a suicidal measure ecologically speaking, and this kind of action is impossible to continue, he said. He requested Japan cooperate with other countries for the conservation of resources.

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