From the quiet ponds of pearl oyster farms to the distant waters where bluefin tuna roam, Japan’s fishing industry—a complex tapestry of 3.87 million tons of annual production—is a story of delicate balance between enduring tradition, rigorous science, and the relentless pressures of a changing world.
Key Takeaways
- In fiscal year 2022, Japan's total fishery production reached 3,872,000 tons, consisting of 2,234,000 tons from capture fisheries and 1,638,000 tons from aquaculture
- Japan's marine capture fishery production in 2021 was 2,244,000 metric tons, marking a 1.2% decrease from 2020
- The production volume of Pacific saury in Japan for 2022 was 189,000 tons, down 15% year-on-year due to poor catch conditions
- The market value of Japan's fishery production in fiscal 2022 was 1.25 trillion yen, down 2.5% from the previous year
- Capture fisheries contributed 614 billion yen to Japan's total fishery output value in 2021
- Aquaculture sector generated 635 billion yen in fiscal 2022
- Japan's full-time fishery workers numbered 147,000 in fiscal 2022, down 2.3% from prior year
- Aquaculture employment in Japan reached 52,000 persons in 2021
- Fishing vessel crew members totaled 110,000 in 2022
- Japan's yellowtail aquaculture production volume was 120,000 tons in 2022
- Salmon and trout farmed production reached 45,000 tons in fiscal 2021
- Scallop aquaculture output in 2022 totaled 250,000 tons, mainly from Hokkaido
- Japan's seafood exports in 2022 totaled 440,000 tons valued at 97.1 billion yen, up 14.8%
- Main export destinations for Japanese seafood: China (30%), USA (20%), EU (15%) in 2021
- Bluefin tuna export quota under ICCAT: 2,201 tons for Japan in 2022
Japan's fishing industry is a mix of declining catches, strong aquaculture, and rising exports.
Aquaculture Statistics
- Japan's yellowtail aquaculture production volume was 120,000 tons in 2022
- Salmon and trout farmed production reached 45,000 tons in fiscal 2021
- Scallop aquaculture output in 2022 totaled 250,000 tons, mainly from Hokkaido
- Oyster production from aquaculture was 220,000 tons in 2021
- Seaweed aquaculture volume in Japan 2022: 420,000 tons
- Japanese amberjack (kanpachi) farmed 35,000 tons in fiscal 2022
- Eel aquaculture production declined to 6,500 tons in 2021
- Shrimp farming output was 12,000 tons in 2022
- Abalone aquaculture harvest reached 6,000 tons in fiscal 2021
- Pearl oyster production for Akoya pearls: 20 tons in 2022
- Bluefin tuna ranching volume in Japan 2021: 8,000 tons
- Sea urchin hatchery production: 2,000 tons in 2022
- Wakame seaweed farmed 180,000 tons in fiscal 2020
- Nori seaweed production from aquaculture: 240,000 tons in 2022
- Milkfish aquaculture: 1,500 tons in 2021
- Red sea bream farmed production: 25,000 tons in 2022
- Kuruma prawn output from farms: 2,800 tons in fiscal 2021
- Konosiri (bridled gurnard) aquaculture experimental yield: 500 tons in 2022
- Ark shell aquaculture: 15,000 tons in 2021
- Flounder farming production: 10,000 tons in fiscal 2022
Aquaculture Statistics Interpretation
Japan's aquaculture industry is clearly betting on seaweed and shellfish to anchor the dinner plate, while delicacies like eel and tuna remain precious—and precarious—pursuits.
Economic Statistics
- The market value of Japan's fishery production in fiscal 2022 was 1.25 trillion yen, down 2.5% from the previous year
- Capture fisheries contributed 614 billion yen to Japan's total fishery output value in 2021
- Aquaculture sector generated 635 billion yen in fiscal 2022
- Japan's seafood export value in 2022 reached 97.1 billion yen, a record high with 14.8% growth
- Wholesale value of fresh fish in Japan for 2021 was 1.8 trillion yen
- Processed fishery products market size in Japan 2022 was 2.3 trillion yen
- Fishing industry GDP contribution in Japan stood at 0.2% of total GDP in 2020, equivalent to 1.1 trillion yen
- Average ex-vessel price for Pacific saury in 2022 was 1,200 yen per kg
- Tuna market value in Japan for 2021 exceeded 500 billion yen annually
- Seaweed processing industry revenue in fiscal 2022 was 300 billion yen
- Japan's fishery import value in 2022 was 2.7 trillion yen, mainly salmon and shrimp
- Retail sales of seafood in Japan reached 5.5 trillion yen in 2021
- Fishing vessel operation costs averaged 45% of revenue in 2022
- Aquaculture feed expenditure in Japan for fiscal 2021 was 150 billion yen
- Ex-vessel price for bluefin tuna in 2022 averaged 4,500 yen/kg
- Crab market wholesale value in 2021 was 120 billion yen
- Japan's seafood processing employment wages totaled 400 billion yen in 2022
- Fuel costs for fishing fleet rose 20% to 80 billion yen in fiscal 2022
- Oyster farming revenue in Hiroshima prefecture 2021 was 50 billion yen
- Skipjack tuna canning industry value 2022: 200 billion yen
- Sea urchin export value from Japan in 2021 was 10 billion yen
- Eel market size in Japan 2022 dropped to 60 billion yen
- Abalone wholesale prices averaged 3,000 yen/kg in 2022
- Squid processing sector revenue 2021: 180 billion yen
Economic Statistics Interpretation
While the Japanese fishing industry faces a storm of rising costs and declining catches at home, its chefs and exporters are busily plating up a record-breaking seafood feast for the world.
Employment Statistics
- Japan's full-time fishery workers numbered 147,000 in fiscal 2022, down 2.3% from prior year
- Aquaculture employment in Japan reached 52,000 persons in 2021
- Fishing vessel crew members totaled 110,000 in 2022
- Part-time fishery workers in Japan: 68,000 in fiscal 2021
- Women in Japan's fishing industry comprised 25% of workforce or 42,000 in 2022
- Average age of fishery workers in Japan was 55.3 years in 2021
- Hokkaido fishery employment: 35,000 full-time in 2022
- Seafood processing factory workers: 180,000 in Japan 2021
- Fishery cooperative members numbered 900,000 in fiscal 2022
- Offshore fishing crew: 25,000 persons in 2020
- Aquaculture farm managers: 15,000 in Japan 2022
- Decline in young fishery entrants under 30: only 5% of workforce in 2021
- Fishing gear manufacturing employment: 12,000 in 2022
- Miyagi prefecture post-tsunami fishery recovery employed 20,000 by 2021
- Average annual income for full-time fishermen: 4.2 million yen in 2022
- Foreign workers in Japanese fisheries: 5,200 in 2021, mostly from Vietnam
- Seaweed harvesting seasonal workers: 30,000 in fiscal 2022
- Tuna longline vessel crew average: 20 per vessel in 2020
- Oyster shucking workforce in Hiroshima: 8,000 in 2022
- Crab processing line workers peaked at 15,000 during season 2021
- Japan's kelp aquaculture employed 4,500 full-time in 2022
- Fishery training program graduates: 2,000 annually in 2021
Employment Statistics Interpretation
Japan's fishing industry is being kept afloat by a rapidly aging, dwindling core of veterans and a growing patchwork of seasonal and specialty roles, presenting a future that is both precariously top-heavy and stubbornly resilient.
Production Statistics
- In fiscal year 2022, Japan's total fishery production reached 3,872,000 tons, consisting of 2,234,000 tons from capture fisheries and 1,638,000 tons from aquaculture
- Japan's marine capture fishery production in 2021 was 2,244,000 metric tons, marking a 1.2% decrease from 2020
- The production volume of Pacific saury in Japan for 2022 was 189,000 tons, down 15% year-on-year due to poor catch conditions
- In 2020, Japan's total seaweed production stood at 402,000 tons, primarily nori and wakame
- Chub mackerel catch in Japan during 2021 reached 310,000 tons, the highest in recent years
- Japan's anchovy production from capture fisheries in 2022 was 45,000 tons
- Squid catch volume in Japanese waters for fiscal 2021 was 178,000 tons
- In 2019, horse mackerel production in Japan totaled 220,000 tons
- Japan's sardine catch in 2022 amounted to 120,000 tons, fluctuating due to migration patterns
- Skipjack tuna landings in Japan for 2021 were 150,000 tons
- In fiscal 2020, Alaska pollock capture production was 380,000 tons
- Snow crab catch in Japan 2022 reached 12,000 tons
- Japan's yellowtail wild catch in 2021 was 55,000 tons
- Octopus production from capture in fiscal 2022 was 28,000 tons
- In 2020, Japan's total freshwater fish capture was 45,000 tons
- Scallop production from Hokkaido fisheries in 2022 was 210,000 tons
- Bluefin tuna catch quota for Japan in 2021 was 2,201 tons
- Japan's eel capture production in 2020 dropped to 7,000 tons
- Abalone harvest in 2022 was 5,200 tons
- Sea urchin production from capture fisheries in fiscal 2021 was 8,500 tons
- In 2019, Japan's shark catch totaled 15,000 tons
- Mackerel icefish production in 2022 was 90,000 tons
- Japan's penaeus prawn capture in 2021 was 3,500 tons
- Sea bream wild catch volume in fiscal 2020 was 12,000 tons
- In 2022, Japan's flying squid catch was 145,000 tons
- Hairtail fish production from capture in 2021 totaled 25,000 tons
- Japan's 2020 jack mackerel catch was 180,000 tons
- In fiscal 2022, rockfish capture production reached 40,000 tons
- Ark shell harvest in 2021 was 18,000 tons
- Japan's 2019 surf clam production from capture was 22,000 tons
Production Statistics Interpretation
While Japan's fishing industry serves up a vast and varied menu, its overall catch is a story of meticulous management meeting the whims of nature, where the triumphant haul of a chub mackerel can be offset by a wandering sardine or a elusive saury.
Trade and Sustainability Statistics
- Japan's seafood exports in 2022 totaled 440,000 tons valued at 97.1 billion yen, up 14.8%
- Main export destinations for Japanese seafood: China (30%), USA (20%), EU (15%) in 2021
- Bluefin tuna export quota under ICCAT: 2,201 tons for Japan in 2022
- MSC-certified sustainable fisheries in Japan: 25 in 2022, covering 20% of catch
- Japan's total allowable catch (TAC) for Pacific saury in 2022: 310,000 tons
- Aquaculture certification under ASC: 10 farms in Japan as of 2021
- Plastic waste from fishing gear: 10,000 tons annually in Japan, addressed by 2022 recycling program
- Bycatch reduction devices mandated on 80% of trawlers by 2022
- Japan's import dependency for seafood: 60% of consumption in 2021
- Eel export ban to Hong Kong lifted partially in 2022 after stock recovery
- Seafood trade deficit in Japan 2022: 1.65 trillion yen
- Overfishing index for Japanese sardine: improved 15% by 2022 management
- Closed areas for squid fishing: 20% of EEZ in 2021
- Fuel efficiency improvement in fleet: 12% by 2022 via new engines
- IUU fishing seizures by Japan coast guard: 50 cases in 2022
- Snow crab TAC reduced 30% to 12,000 tons in 2022 for sustainability
- Traceability system covers 95% of tuna exports from Japan in 2021
- Marine protected areas for fisheries: 5% of EEZ by 2022
- Stock recovery success for horse mackerel: 80% above target in 2022
- Carbon footprint labeling on 30% of seafood products in 2021
- Japan's seafood exports to USA grew 25% to 20 billion yen in 2022
- Aquaculture antibiotic use reduced 40% since 2015 to 50 tons in 2021
- Fishing moratorium days: 120 days/year average for coastal fisheries in 2022
Trade and Sustainability Statistics Interpretation
Japan is simultaneously running a high-stakes seafood relay race where one hand frantically passes a prized bluefin tuna to the next while the other scrambles to untangle a plastic net, all while trying not to trip over its own TAC limits on the way to a growing, yet still deficit-ridden, finish line.
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