TOKYO: Japan has decided not to hold negotiations with Russia at least for now on salmon and trout fishing by Japanese vessels within Russia’s exclusive economic zone, the Fisheries Agency said Friday.

Tokyo conveyed the decision to Moscow on Thursday as the two countries’ relations have deteriorated due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Japan has imposed economic sanctions on Russia for the aggression, acting in concert with its peers in the Group of Seven forum. Russia, for its part, has named Japan a country unfriendly to Moscow.

The agency made its decision by examining the situation “comprehensively,” an official said.

Japan and Russia negotiate every year fishing conditions under which Japanese fishers catch salmon and trout originating from Russia in their 200-nautical-mile EEZs. In April this year, the two countries agreed on the fishing conditions in the Japanese EEZ.

In Russia’s EEZ, Japan’s salmon and trout fishing has been limited to test operations by the government since 2016.

JIJI Press