TOKYO: Japan plans to propose an expansion of catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna, at an international meeting to be held late July, Fisheries Agency sources said Friday.

The country is set to claim that stocks of adult bluefin tuna capable of reproducing have been recovering, paving the way for increasing catch quotas, the sources said.

But the proposal is expected to draw opposition from the United States, which seeks to protect fish resources.

At a meeting held Friday by the agency, many fishery operators called for expanding bluefin catch quotas.

The agency will iron out details of the proposal, such as the size of the catch quota expansion.

The proposal will be put forward at an online meeting of the Northern Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, which discusses resources management for bluefin tuna.

Stocks of bluefin tuna have been managed internationally since 2015, after plunging due to overfishing.

In 2018, stocks of adult bluefin tuna nearly tripled to some 28,000 tons from the 2010 record low.

 Japan called for higher catch quotas last year, but failed to get an agreement due to opposition from the United States, which claimed that stocks remained low.

JIJI Press