Roles of Fisheries Agency

Japan is surrounded by the sea on all sides and is in favorable marine environment being blessed with the Japan current and the Kurile current. The fishing industry has been prospering in coastal area and offshore area since old times in Japan and Japanese people have been so familiar with "Delicacies from sea" that they have been called as fish-eating race.
At present, Japan is one of the world's most prominent fishery nations with about 7.4 million tons of fishing products a year in 1996, and fishery products take an important role indispensable for forming and maintaining healthy and rich dietary habits of Japanese style by furnishing animal protein necessary forthe dietary habits of the Japanese stably.
In these circumstances, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea came into effect in Japan in July, 1996. Then, Japan is required to preserve and manage marine biological resources in exclusive economic zone as a coastal country, on the other hand, the fishing industry in Japan is facing with such problems as reduction of fishing products by the lowering of resources conditions and deterioration of fishery business.
However, interests and expectations by the people to the following fields relating to fishery are growing increasingly; Expansion of demands for marine products supported by health-oriented consumers, challenges to "Making and raising fisheries" or "Fisheries oriented for proper resources management" such as fish ranching aiming for resources cultivation, marine recreation such as recreational fishing reflecting leisure-orientation of the people, deployment ofresort areas in fishing villages, and promotion of environment beautification onsea and beaches.
In order to cope with economical and social situations and changes of needs by the people accurately, the Fisheries Agency planned to establish a new organizational system and was reorganized into a four departments system; Fisheries Policy Planning Department, Resources Management Department, ResourcesDevelopment Department, and Fishing Port Department as of October 1, 1997. The Fisheries Agency attempts stable supply of marine products to the people and promotion of the marine products industry in Japan.


Duties of Fisheries Agency

Fisheries Policy Planning Department

The duties of the Fisheries Agency include not only fishery production activities but also administrative fields on whole fisheries widely from distribution and consumption of marine products to problems on fishing ports andfishing villages.
Fisheries Policy Planning Department is in charge of planning of basic policies concerning whole fisheries administration, compilation of a fishery white paper, review on draft of laws and ordinances, preparation ofbudget, business on the Diet, and business on international agreement on fisheries, by coordinating with other departments in the Fisheries Agency in order to promote widespread fisheries administration smoothly and comprehensively.
The Fisheries Agency is also endeavoring for stable management of whole fisheries by planning finance and taxation measures, guidance and supervision offisheries cooperatives, and execution of fisheries mutual aid system and fishingvessel insurance system. In addition, Fishing Processing Industries Division was newly established in October, 1997 to take charge of the fields of distribution and consumption of marine products and also to cope with policy subjects such as high added value of marine products.

Resources Management Department

It is necessary to plan continuous development of fisheries in Japan and stable supply of marine products coping with severe conditions such as reductionof fishery production by the deterioration of fisheries resources under the new marine order based on United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. Therefor, in order to plan appropriate operations of the regulation based on thenewly introduced Total Allowable Catch (TAC) system or the fisheries Act and to secure orderly fishery production activities, Resources Management Department was newly established in the reorganization in October, 1997. The Resources Management Department is in charge of operation of TAC system, promotion of fisheries oriented for proper resources management, guidance and supervision of coastal fisheries, offshore fisheries, and far seas fisheries, guidance of recreational fishing, coordination of sea surface utilization between fisheries and marine recreation, regulation of fisheries by foreigners in exclusive economic zone of Japan, control of fisheries, and authorization of building of fishing vessels.

Resources Development Department

As the subject of fishery is a vast ocean and a great variety of fishery resources, and majority of those engaged in fishery are small-scale fishery workers, the test and research activities indispensable for the development of fisheries such as investigation and grasp of ocean and resources and technology development, are carried out mainly depending on the activities of public test and research organizations. The Resources Development Department is a department in charge of policies to supply fishery products stably by grasping fishery resources, coastal fisheries and fishing villages uniformly, together with natural scientific investigation and research in the field of fisheries.
This department operates National Fisheries Research Institutes (National Fisheries Research Institutes in 7 sea sections), National Research Institute ofAquaculture, and National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering to conduct basic and leading research on fisheries, promotes investigation and research on ocean and fishery resources, and aquaculture in liaison with public and private test and research organizations, performs coastal fisheries improvement and development works and a fish farm actively, and promotes coastalfisheries structure improvement work, fresh-water fishery promotion business, execution of fishery seas conditions forecast, and news technological development on fisheries. Also, the development and survey on new fisheries overseas, and diffusion of technologies to fishery workers and fishing villages are important. In addition, through security of fishery environment by prevention of a red tide and countermeasures against pollution of the sea, the department is endeavoring for the promotion of fisheries and security
for safety of the people, and also tackles to global environment problems with increasing concerns recently such as conservation of rare wild aquatic creaturesand the protection of the ecosystem and elucidation of environment conservation functions in the sea.

Fishing Port Department

Fishing port is not only a base for fishery production activities but also a foothold for distribution and processing of marine products, and in addition, itshoulders an important role as a base for fishing village society. At present, there are 2,944 fishing ports throughout Japan, and the implementation of planned fishing port preparation business is one of the important duties of the Fishing Port Department.
The Fishing Port Department, as a department in charge of policies on the fishing port, prepares basic facilities of fishing ports based on the Fishing Port Improvement Long Term Plan (Present 9th plan [FY1994 - FY2001]), plans proper maintenance and management and promotes environmental preparation of fishing ports and fishing villages actively.
The Department protects the coast in fishing port area from disasters to be caused by high tide and tidal waves or coastal erosion, promotes to improve costconservation facilities and coastal environment based on seven-year plan of seacoast conservation project (present 6th plan [FY1996 - FY2002]) and is endeavoring for proper disaster restoration of fishing ports and fishing facilities and the like.


National Fisheries Research Institutes, National Research Institute of Aquaculture and National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering

National Fisheries Research Institutes, National Research Institute of Aquaculture, and National Research
Institute of Fisheries Engineering are departments to implement investigation and test research concerning fishery field.
There are 7 National Fisheries Research Institutes established in each part of Japan and they are conducting research on fishery resources (ecology of resources creatures, resources evaluation and the like), marine environment (production changing mechanism in sea area, structure of marine ecology system and the like), fisheries in sea section (culture, management, and improvement ofutilization technology of coastal resources) in accordance with the characteristics of the sea area. In addition, the research on high migrating fish resources and sea-borne mammals, and marine environment in far seas is being conducted in National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, the research on effects of a red tide and toxic substance on fishery is being conducted in National Research Institute of Fisheries and Environment of Inland Sea, and the research on processing distribution and fishery management economy is being conducted in National Research Institute of Fisheries Science.

In the National Research Institute of Aquaculture, the research on a gene rearing kind to be a base of aquaculture, propagation, nutrition metabolism, breeding environment technology and pathology is being conducted.
In the National Research Institute of Fisheries Engineering, the research on fishery civil engineering (fishing grounds, fishing port facilities, hydraulics and the like), fishing production engineering (fishing vessels, fishing tools, fishing methods and the like) and fishery information engineering (application of electronic technology, optical technology to fisheries), is being conducted. In each research institute other than the National Research Institute of Aquaculture, a fishery investigation vessel (total 10 vessels of 59 - 892 tons) is assigned, respectively, to be used for various investigation.

National Salmon Resources Center

With the establishment of 200 nautical mile system, the culture of fishery resources in the surrounding sea area around Japan and high utilization become important subjects. Especially, as salmons have characteristics to grow up in the sea and to recur to the mother river after grown up as parent fish, and the planned production is possible with high economic efficiency, they are importantin promoting "Making and raising fishery". Many countries in the world are carrying out propagation enhancement and resources management of salmons directly or independently, when viewed from international point of view.
On hatching and stocking business of salmons, Hokkaido Salmon Hatchery was reorganized to National Salmon Resources Center in October, 1997, in order to review the past system and to build up the system that was able to cope with theresponsibility as a mother river country for go-upstream resources under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, based on the recent situation that the recurring rate of salmon was improved and the stocking technology in nongovernment business was improved.
The Center promotes investigation and research, technology development and popularization for proper resources management of Japanese salmons such as resources evaluation of salmons, efficiency improvement of hatching and stocking, management technology for low costing and development of high quality resources preparation technology for red salmon, sakura-masu and the like, in order to attempt advancement and rationalization of artificial hatching and stocking business for salmons in Japan based on the change in situations around recent salmon resources and to cope with the proper management of salmon resources, which becomes an international requirement.


National Fisheries University

National Fisheries University is operated for the purpose of conducting instruction and research on theory and technology on fisheries. Each departmentcourse requires 4 years of study, a postgraduate course 1 year, and fishery research course 2 years. Courses in each department include 3 courses in Department of Fisheries Information and Management, 3 courses in Department of Fishery Science and Technology, 3 courses in Department of Ocean Mechanical Engineering, 3 courses in Department of Food Science and Technology, and 3 courses in Department of Applied Aquabiology. In addition, the school has Administration Office, Student Office, Library, training ships and attached research facilities.
For the purpose of rearing of talented persons with rich culture and acquisition and training of technology, instructions on technology and practicalbusiness affairs taking in many hours of experiments and practical exercises areconducted under unique education policies in the school in cooperation with fishery administration, other universities and industries closely, and the remarkable effect is being achieved even in technological field in fishery.
The school, located in the northern part of Shimonoseki City, is in a quiet campus facing to the blue Hibiki-nada open sea, and is in a favorable environment where students can enjoy full school life in studying and club activities. Graduates are playing active parts widely in administrative agencies, various enterprises. and organizations and the like.
Graduates of each department and those who have completed the fishery research course are entitled to receive bachelor's degree (Science of fisheries)and master's degree (Science of fisheries), respectively by examination from a degree conferment organization, and are also allowed to have qualifications for admission to graduate schools of other universities and the postgraduate course of this University.

Fisheries Coordination Office

The Fisheries Coordination Office conducts guidance and control of both foreign and Japanese fishing vessels in Japanese fishery waters in order to secure the maintenance of fishery order and smooth operation, and attempts the propagation and protection of aquatic animals and aquatic plants as a major business.
The office is also in charge of mediation of fishery disputes extending over plural prefectures and a part of authorization works on specified fishery authorized by a minister (except Sendai and Niigata). There are 6 Fisheries Coordination Offices established throughout Japan in order to cope with the stated business quickly.