Sustainable Seafood Issues Take Center Stage in Japan

(Photo Credit:  Seafood Legacy / Nobuyuki Aoki)

In mid-November Project Director, Bill Wall, travelled to Japan to take part in the Sustainable Seafood Market Symposium, coordinated by Seafood Legacy, a newly formed Tokyo-based advisory firm dedicated to improving the overall sustainability of the Japanese seafood industry.

The goal of the symposium was to inform and inspire Japanese businesses to work proactively on sustainable seafood issues, a concept that is comparably new in Japan compared to much of North America and Europe. The rate at which attendees registered for the event was unprecedented according to the host venue, and the result was a room packed with hundreds of individuals with direct interest and influence on the future of Japanese seafood, including representatives from all along the seafood supply chain, local and international NGOs, politicians, academics, media and more!

The afternoon was broken into 3 sections; 1) Understanding the Issue, Urgency and Responsibility, 2) Successful Case Studies: The Feasibility of Sustainable Seafood and 3) Drawing a Roadmap for Japan and all presentations for the day were met with approving nods as well as rapid note taking.

At the reception held after the event, it was generally agreed that the symposium was a great success and that it may well be looked back on as a watershed moment in the transformation of the Japanese seafood industry.

Bill would like to thank Wakao Hanoaka CEO/Founder of Seafood Legacy for allowing him to participate in the event and we look forward to providing updates in future newsletters.