Japan hosts conference on Pacific bluefin tuna stock management

The conference began on Wednesday and will continue until next Tuesday. The meeting is attended by delegates from 13 countries and regions, such as Japan, the United States, South Korea and Taiwan. Pacific bluefin tuna stocks have declined significantly, mainly due to overfishing, but are now recovering as a result of international efforts. At the conference, Japan calls for an expansion of bluefin tuna fishing quotas in the western and central Pacific Ocean, including the waters around Japan. Japan proposes to increase the fishing quota for large bluefin tuna weighing 30 kilograms or more by 130%, and for tuna weighing less than 30 kilograms by 30%. Japanese Forestry, Fisheries and Agriculture Minister Sakamoto Tetsushi sent a video message to the conference saying that when stock management efforts bear fruit, they should ...