Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corporation and Kinki University have signed an agreement to promote the production of bluefin tuna hatchlings in Japan as well as explore various business opportunities overseas.
The agreement will include the establishment of the ‘Tuna Dream Goto Hatchling Center Corporation’ to which Kinki University researchers will be seconded in order to work towards commercialisation of production.
The centre will also strive to contribute towards increased survival rates during cultivation and reducing the risk of fish fry dying during transport, which is a problem.
Toyota Tsusho and Kinki University have already established a hatchling centre in Goto City, Nagasaki Prefecture, which is currently providing an intermediate bluefin tuna breeding business.
With regulations on bluefin tuna catches being tightened and a 50% reduction in haul limit, the agreement ultimately aims to provide a stable supply of cultivated bluefin tuna hatchlings to the market to help keep up with the huge demand for tuna in Japan.
The bluefin tuna market is in trouble at the moment. The European Commission has expressed its disappointment with the outcomes of the 87th Annual meeting of the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), last month in Lima, Peru.
An extraordinary meeting has been called for the end of October to try to solve the stalemate on the election of the Director, adopt a conservation measure on bluefin tuna and make progress on capacity issues.
