Japan, 8 Others Agree To Cut 2026 Saury Quota By 5 Pct

TOKYO, April 18 (Bernama-Kyodo) -- Japan, China, and the seven other members of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission agreed Friday to cut their combined saury catch quota by 5 per cent from the current 202,500 tonnes in 2026, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said, Kyodo News reported.

The agreement by the nine members, also including Taiwan, South Korea and Russia, at the conference that began Tuesday in Osaka fell short of Japan's proposal for a 10 per cent reduction to help restore depleted saury stocks.

The total allowable catch spans areas including international waters, as well as the exclusive economic zones of Japan and Russia.

The Japanese government has urged stricter quotas in international waters, citing high fishing yields by China and Taiwan. The commission also agreed to slash the quota by 10 per cent in 2027, according to the agency.

Japan's quota in 2025 stood at around 16,000 tonnes in international waters, while a total of 81,000 tonnes was allocated for Japan and Russia in their EEZs.

Japan caught around 64,800 tonnes of the fish in 2025, below its quota but up 1.7-fold from the previous year as the nutrient-rich Oyashio Current neared Japan, the ministry said.

However, the overall haul has fallen by around 80 per cent compared with the recent peak in 2008.

-- BERNAMA-KYODO