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MEL Japan Examines Japan Sea Offshore Red Queen Crab Fishery for COC Certification
June 24, 2008
Marine Eco Label Japan (MEL Japan) has begun an assessment process
for applications for Chain of Custody (COC) Certification submitted by Japan Sea
offshore red queen crab fishery. Fifteen distribution-processing companies are
candidates for this reviewing procedure.
Japan Sea Crab Fisheries Association, which previously initiated the
application process of “Operation Phase Certification,” applied for the COC
certification. Three distribution-processing companies, under the association,
have been undergoing the COC assessment. By acquiring both certifications
from MEL Japan, they will be allowed to utilize certified marine resources to
produce and sell eco-labeled products.
Sakai Minato Fisheries Promotion Association, located in Sakai Minato
City, Tottori Prefecture, has also entered into the COC certification process to
produce and distribute certified red queen crab from the Japan Sea Crab
Fisheries Association.
There are two types of certifications: (1) “Operation Phase Certification,”
which is given to approved fisheries that operate with attention to the marine
ecosystem; and (2) “Chain of Custody Certification,” which enables distribution-
processing companies to use certified seafood and generate eco-labeled
products without them ever being mixed with non-labeled ones.
Translated by Kiyo Hayasaka on June 23, 2008
Fisheries Agency Examines Trawl Fisheries in Tenno Seamount in Northwest Pacific
June 24, 2008
Fisheries Agency’s patrol boat, “Kaiyo Maru,” began examining
environmental effect of trawl fisheries in the area of Tenno Seamounts (the
Emperor Seamounts) in the Northwest Pacific.
Based on a viewpoint of trawl fisheries’ negative impacts on the fragile
ecosystem of the seamounts, the United Nations discussed a possibility of
regulation of trawl fisheries in neutral waters. In response to this UN debate,
the Fisheries Agency has decided to formulate resource management
measures based on scientific evidence.
The agency’s boat is far out in the ocean gathering basic scientific data by
sampling benthic creatures and plankton with crab traps and large-scale
plankton nets and observing the sea floor by underwater cameras. This
research will be completed on August 15, 2008.
Translated by Kiyo Hayasaka on June 23, 2008
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