Marine Protected Areas in Japan Takaomi KANEKO Mitsutaku MAKINO Fisheries Research Agency Japan 1
Contents 1. Characteristics of Fisheries and fisheries management in Japan 2. Japanese Marine Protected Areas UKIYOE of people enjoying shellfish gathering at Tokyo Bay (late Edo era) 2
1. Characteristics of Fisheries and Fisheries management in Japan 3
CHINA RUSSIA Hokkaido Shiretoko 45 N Consists of 6852 islands Yellow Sea ROK Kyushu Shikoku Honshu (Main Island) Tohoku area 40 N 35 N Wide types of marine ecosystems, from tropical to sub-arctic. population :127.7 milli.(2008) East China Sea 30 N GDP: US$ 6.4 trilli. (2007), Fisheries 0.3%. Okinawa Islands 4 25 N E 125 E 130 E 135E 140 E 145 E
Five principles in ideal fisheries in Japan
Profile of Fisheries Industry; comparison Country # fisher # vessel SSF ratio Iceland 6,300 826 0.63 5.7 milli tons, US$ 20.4 billi. 280 thousand fishers, with about 220 thousand fishing vessels (>98% small scale). SSF < ISCFV 25 (the International Statistic Classification of fishery Vessels) Norway 22,916 8,664 0.89 Denmark 4,792 4,285 0.86 UK 19,044 9,562 0.82 France 26,113 6,586 0.78 Canada 84,775 18,280 0.74 NZ 2,227 1,375 0.74 Spain 75,434 15,243 0.76 USA C.A. 290,000 27,200 0.53 Korea 180,649 50,398 0.9 Japan 278,200 219,466 0.98 AU 13,500 C.A. 5,000 N.A.
Coastal fisheries co-management by FCAs Organization of coastal fishers, Fisheries Cooperative Associations (FCAs), have Fishing Rights based on Fisheries Law of 1949. Only the members of FCAs can operate coastal fisheries specified by the Fishing Rights (exclusion of outsiders). Offshore fisheries are managed by licenses. Govt provides broad and simple regulations. On top of that, each FCAs make detailed and fine tuned rules and regulations in autonomous basis according to the social and ecological conditions. 7
Territorial use rights are allocated in Japanese coastal fishery for centuries. river river Community B Community A cape Tenure area for B Tenure area for community A Some rules are 200 years old. Provided by Dr. Nobuyuki Yagi
Examples of local fishers autonomous activities Cleanup activities by FCA members family (http://www.minato-j.fks.ed.jp/seito/gyouji/shizen/shizen.html) Forestation activities by local fishers wife (http://www.jf-net.ne.jp/hkyubetsu/sigen.htm) 9
Fish scale produced by local FCA (http://www.jf-net.ne.jp/cbgyoren/sigen.html) Autonomous resource assessment or setting Individual catch Quota for some species 10
Meetings and discussions at FCA http://www.pref.aomori.jp http://www.pref.mie.jp 11 http://www.pref.iwate.jp
Japan has a wide variety of ecosystem, fisheries, and culture. Fishery is one of the most important industries for all Japanese for many reasons. We have a long history of community-based management and sustainable use of marine-ecosystem.
2 Japanese Marine Protected Areas
Important points for setting MPAs 1) MPAs are no more than measures for achieving objectives. They should not be objectives in themselves. 2) The conceptual objectives of setting MPAs are conservation of biological diversity and its sustainable use and allocation. (cf. CBD article 1) 3) The operational objectives or targets should be defined based on Societal Choice. A desirable situation attained by MPAs should be set based on cultural and historical aspects of the community. (CBD ecosystem approach) 4) MPAs are classified into several categories by each objectives. (Makino 2009, Makino 2010 (in Japanese))
I a I b II III IV V VI MPA categories selected by IUCN Dudley, 2008) Strict nature reserve Wilderness area National park Natural monument or feature Habitat/species management area Protected landscape/seascape Protected area with sustainable use of natural resources MPA does not mean No-take Zone or No-entry Zone There is no priority among these categories
Two classification of Japanese MPA Legal Marine Protected Area(LMPA): Established directly based on a legal framework: ex: Nature Conservation area (Natural Conservation Law), Natural Park (Natural Park Law), Common Fisheries Right Areas (Fisheries Law) (See Yagi et al. 2010) Autonomous Marine Protected Area(AMPA): Established based on local initiatives and set on an Issue-specific basis There are more than one thousand AMPAs in Japan
Various types of MPAs of Japan (From:Ministry of the Environment) Name of MPA System Number of Areas 1 Protect of Nature Landscape and/or Wildlife of High Academic Value National Park & other Nature Parks 70 areas Natural Seashore Conservation Areas 91 areas Natural Monuments 19 monuments 2 Protect of Habitats and/or Ecosystem Nature Conservation Areas 1 area Wild life Protection Areas (National, Prefectural) 122 areas 3 Conservation and Sustainable Use of Fisheries Resources Protected Waters 52 areas Coastal Areas for Marine Resources Development Areas/ Designated Areas 61 areas Common Fishery Rights Areas around 5,000 areas Areas which protected by local governments or fishers themselves more than 1,000 areas
Case 1: Siretoko World Natural Heritage area (AMPA) Southernmost limit of seasonal ice floes Main industries: Fisheries & Tourism Fisheries production (2006): 73,641 tons, US$ 28.4 million. There are 3 FCAs, with 851 members. About 20% of local people works for fisheries industry.
Landings 16 1 2 3 4,6 14 4 5 6 4,4 Yield (billion yen) 12 10 8 6 4 7 8 9 10 MTL 4,2 4,0 3,8 3,6 3,4 Mean trohic level 2 3,2 0 3,0 1985 1990 Fiscal Year1995 2000 1. Chum salmon 2. Walleye pollock, 3. Kelp, 4. common squid, 5. thornyhead,6. Pacific cod, 7. greenling, 8. pink salmon, 9. sea urchin, 10. Octopus dolfleini
AMPAs to protect Walleye Pollack SSB Since 1995 Spawning ground Since 2005 20 (Bottom trawlings are legally prohibited at the coastal area)
Some other autonomous measures for Walleye pollock Rules on fishing season, operation time, #nets, etc. Enlargement of gillnet mesh size based on the results of academic research (Ueda, 1992) Vessel buyback program. Compensation costs, US$13.5milli, are paid by residual fishers and FCA. Collecting biological data (e.g. maturity) (TAC is set by the govt.)
Local fishers are engaged not only in fishery operations, but also in resource management and a part of EAF. The core fishers are attending 15-20 meetings per month for their autonomous management (a part of fisheries operation).
Case 2: Coral reef AMPA in Yaeyama A local FCA, a scuba association, and a prefectural fisheries experimental station cooperates to set AMPAs for conservation of coral reefs. Google Not only a fishery but also a diving is prohibited in AMPAs. (cooperation between a fishery and a tourism sector)
Eliminating crown-of-thorns starfish Crown-of thorns starfish eat huge amount of coral reefs. Death of coral reefs is not desirable for both fishers and divers. Photo from Dr. S. Kakuma At first, fishers and divers eliminate COTS independently. They involved the local and central government, and make a council to cope with an outbreak. Cooperation among stakeholders and government
Lessons from Japanese case studies Most important things for setting MPAs are * All local users of ecosystem services (ex. Fishery, tourism, education, leisure, NPO etc. ), scientists and governmental officer have to cooperate together. * A wide variety of MPAs could be established autonomously to match to particular objectives and problems in each regions. CBD Guideline Ecosystem based approach Principle 2: Management should be decentralized to the lowest appropriate level.
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