TOKYO - An international conference on sustainable management of Pacific bluefin tuna reached an agreement Tuesday to expand catch quotas for larger fish as sought by Japan, Japanese government sources said.
The online talks, held behind closed doors, were an unusual resumption of the previous meeting in July that ended without an agreement due to Mexico's opposition.
Pacific bluefin tuna is popular for use in high-end sushi and other dishes. Its population plunged due to overfishing, but it has recovered in recent years under strict international rules.
The new agreement could partially increase catch quotas from 2027, potentially making the fish more accessible to consumers.
Japan negotiated to raise the quota for larger fish by about 25 percent from current levels while cutting the quota for smaller fish -- seen as important for securing future resources -- by about 6 percent.
At the previous weeklong meeting held through July 14 in Nagasaki, southwestern Japan, discussions progressed on shifting to a new management system under which quotas would be set automatically in line with stock levels, similar to Japan's proposal. Mexico, however, objected just before an agreement was reached.
According to sources involved in the negotiations, Mexico took a tougher stance out of concern that countries in the Western and Central Pacific region, including Japan, might catch more fish than anticipated.
Japan persuaded Mexico to change its position, and the talks ultimately produced the agreement sought by Japan and the other countries and regions.
Under the new quota for the Western and Central Pacific region, the catch limit for larger fish will increase from the current 11,869 tons to 14,836 tons, while the limit for smaller fish will decrease from 5,125 tons to 4,823 tons.
The allocation of catch quotas for larger and smaller fish among individual countries and regions will be discussed later. Japan plans to negotiate its share with South Korea and Taiwan.
"Given the outcome of the previous meeting in Nagasaki, I would like to very much welcome the fact that Mexico agreed (to new catch quotas) and we reached a consensus, even though there is more to negotiate," Japanese farm minister Norikazu Suzuki said at a press conference following the meeting.
Takumi Fukuda, a senior official at Japan's Fisheries Agency who represented the Japanese government at the talks, told reporters, "We're still in a situation where we cannot let our guard down. We intend to remain vigilant and respond accordingly."
Pacific bluefin tuna is managed by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and, for the eastern Pacific, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. The agreement is expected to be approved at each organization's annual meeting this year and take effect from 2027.
