TOKYO: Countries Tuesday agreed to raise Japan’s annual quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna catches.

Members of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s Northern Committee agreed to increase Japan’s annual quota for large bluefin tuna weighing 30 kilograms or more by 50 percent from the current level and that for smaller bluefin tuna by 10 percent.

Japan had sought a 2.31-fold increase in the annual quota for large bluefin tuna and a 30 percent rise in that for smaller fish.

Tuesday’s agreement, made at a meeting in Kushiro, Hokkaido, northernmost Japan, will be formalized at an annual WCPFC meeting to be held in Fiji in November and December, and come into effect next year.

The overall annual quota for large tuna is currently 7,609 tons, with 5,614 tons allocated to Japan, and that for smaller tuna is 4,725 tons, with 4,007 tons to Japan.

Bluefin tuna is popular in Japan, including as a luxury sushi topping. Its population had once dropped due to overfishing, but has been recovering in recent years.

JIJI Press