Japan plans to propose a 50 percent cut on catches of young bluefin tuna in the Western and Central Pacific, officials said Tuesday, in a historic shift aimed at safeguarding the at-risk species. Tokyo - the world's biggest consumer of tuna - has been reluctant to reduce catches, despite mounting scientific evidence that stocks are near collapse.
But in what it called "an epochal move towards more thorough regulation", Japan plans to propose during an upcoming regional fisheries conference that the amount of young fish that can be caught is slashed to half the 2002-2004 average. Japan said it would propose members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) adopt a 10-year recovery plan for Pacific bluefin tuna, beginning in 2015.
The plan would see the amount of young tuna - defined as those weighing less than 30 kilogrammes (66 pounds) - that Japan is able to catch cut to around 4,000 tons a year. During a four-day meeting scheduled to take place in Fukuoka, western Japan, from September 1, Tokyo will also suggest a warning system intended to help stem overfishing. Under the system, warnings or alerts will be issued to local fishermen as soon as authorities notice that bluefin tuna catches are approaching pre-set ceilings, the officials said.