JAPAN SAYS GLOBAL WARMING CAUSING POOR FISHING CATCH

The Japanese government aims to tackle fishing industry issues while identifying global warming as one cause of recent years' continuous poor catches of Pacific saury, salmon and other fish in the nation's waters, Taiki Asakawa reported for Mainichi Japan.

It will be the first time the government has taken fishing countermeasures against global warming while also designating the phenomenon as one reason for small catches. The government will urge fisheries to change their business models while considering their impact on climate change.

The Fisheries Agency will prepare measures by early June. In anticipation that poor catches will continue, the agency is set to draw up plans for the fishing industry to shift to a system adaptable to environmental changes, such as by diversifying types of fish caught and fishing methods.

The countermeasures will also be reflected in the basic plan for fisheries, a medium- to long-term fishing administration policy set for establishment in spring next year.

According to the agency, domestic catch of Pacific saury, salmon, and Japanese flying squid began falling rapidly around 2014. In total, 141,803 metric tons (MT) of them were caught in 2019, down 74.1% on 2014's catch.

In 2019, the catch of the three marine species hit the bottom of the barrel.

In response to the developments, the Fisheries Agency set up a review committee in April 2021 and has been holding discussions on the future of fisheries. During the talks, the agency analyzed trends concerning saury, salmon, and Japanese flying squid.

It found that fishing locations for saury had moved to offshore locations and that Japanese flying squid spawning grounds had shrunk while lower volumes of salmon return to their release sites. It determined that climate change, such as rising seawater temperatures and oceanic current changes, was behind small catches.

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE