I'm doing a report on the Japanese fishing industry. In this report I will tell you interesting facts about the Japanese fishing industry and their diet. I will be comparing the Japanese fishing industry to the Canadian fishing industry. After reading this report I hope you will find my comparisons insightful and my facts interesting. I sincerely hope you enjoy my report.
The world fishing industry is very important. It provides food and jobs for millions of people the world over. The fishing industry includes all aspects of fishing such as catching, processing, selling and conservation. Many people enjoy eating fish which is a good source of protein. The bigger the world population, the more fish need to be caught. Eighty-three million metric tons of fish are caught each year from the worlds oceans. More than half of these are caught from the Pacific Ocean.
The Japanese have traditionally eaten much fish. Fish is their main source of protein. The U.N. food and agriculture organization estimates that Japanese people will eat 30 percent of the worlds fresh fish. That is more than is eaten in any other part of the world. All this fish comes to 80 kg for each man woman and child. A lot of this fish is prepared as sushi.
The Japanese have been fishing in the oceans for many years. This is because as I have already written, fish is a very important food for the Japanese. The Japanese people also eat shellfish and seaweed. Japanese fisherman catch about 10 million metric tons of fish a year. Japan has many fishing boats, more than any other country. The table below shows that only one country caught more fish than Japan in 1992. That country was China.
| Country | Short Tons |
|---|---|
| China | 16,543,000 |
| Japan | 9,326,000 |
| Peru | 7,543,000 |
| Chile | 7,167,000 |
| Russia | 6,185,000 |
| United States | 6,176,000 |
| India | 4,602,000 |
| Indonesia | 3,701.000 |
| Thailand | 3,147,000 |
| South Korea | 2,971,000 |
Japan catches more tuna that any other country. They also fish for eels, flat fish, mackerel, pollock and sardines. They also catch a lot of octopus, squid, crabs, clam, scallops, shrimp and other shell fish.
Most fisherman fish in shallow coastal water. There are many small fishing villages scattered along the shores of Japan's islands. Japan's coastal fisherman own their boats and work for themselves. These boats can hold only about 10 tons of fish. The coastal fish catch is about one fourth of the Japanese total catch . Larger boats are used for offshore fishing. These offshore fisherman work for private companies. The amount of fish the offshore boats can hold is from ten to one hundred tons. Pelagic or deep sea fishing accounts for the most fish caught by the Japanese. These fisherman travel for months on the ocean. They are able to do this because fleets of fish boats are served by factory ships or mother ships. These large ships take the catch from the smaller boats and clean them, then either can or freezer the fish. Fish farming has also become popular in Japan. This is where fish farmers raise fish in shallow coastal water. Fresh water fish for instance trout are also caught in many rivers and lakes in Japan.
Fishing is an important industry in both Canada and Japan. Japanese fisherman fish to provide food for their country. Canada's fisherman provide food for Canada, but also export large amounts. The largest fishery in B.C. is Roe Herring fishery. These fÑish are all sold to the Japanese.
Japan is a small country compared to Canada and doesn't have as much coastline as Canada. Japanese fisherman have to go far out into the oceans to catch much of their fish. Canada catches most of their fish in its coastal waters.
Both countries are trying to conserve fish. Japan has many less fishing boats than it did five years ago. Canada is now trying to reduce the number of fishing boats on Canada's West Coast.
Fishermen in Japan and many other countries are facing a problem.. There are too many fishing boats but not enough fish. Japanese fisheries agency says that there are one million large boats and about two million small boats fishing out on the world's oceans. Japan is very cooperative with other countries. In 1990 Japan had 5,000 but now has only 3,000 fisehing boats. But now, it has doubled the amount of fish it buys from other countries. They buy these fish from Korea, Taiwan and Indonesia. These three countries do not try to conserve fish, so overfishing continues. Mike Haggler a Green Peace researcher says it is time that the Japanese have to find ways to eat less fish. Right now he says Japan consumes 1/3 of the worlds fresh fish supply. Also a problem is a very large "by catch" caught by fishermen using large drift nets. These drift nets used to be up to three miles long. One boat may put eight to ten drifts in one day. These nets not only catch the type of fish the fish they are looking for but plenty of other fish and marine mammals by accident. Many countries including Japan have agreed to use smaller drift nets and only in certain parts of the ocean.
I hope you enjoyed my report. I learned a lot bout fish farming, conservation fishing and the Japanese fishing industry. I agree with Mike Haggler from Green Peace when he said that Japan needs to find a way to eat less fish so they too can help with conservation.