Economic Analysis of Resource Management in the Fisheries Industry

2010

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the performance and analyze the system of fishery resource management, primarily from an economic perspective, with the aim of contributing to the sustained use of Japan's fishery resources. As fishery resources have declined and the international economic environment has changed, the output of Japan's domestic fishery industry has dropped sharply in recent years. This situation calls for new countermeasures. Restoring natural resources through appropriate resource management and raising the profitability of the fishery industry by increasing efficiency are urgent issues.

Resource management based on economic incentives such as individual transferable quotas (ITQ, IQ) has been effective in various foreign countries. Major countries with fishing industries that introduced systems such as ITQs have improved their natural resources, raised the profitability of the fishery industry, and made the fishery industry more attractive. In addition, marine product eco-labels, an effort to restore natural resources driven by fisheries, distributors, and consumers, has spread to numerous foreign countries. It is extremely important to evaluate the economic benefits and impact on natural resource levels if Japan were to introduce new mechanisms such as the ITQ system and marine product eco-labels. This is important research that should be promptly undertaken so as not to lose the opportunity to make policy proposals. Clarifying the economic benefits of fishery resource management systems makes it possible to evaluate the particular systems from an economic perspective and can be expected to contribute to the design of such systems.

2009

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the performance and system of fishery resources management, primarily from an economic perspective, with the aim of contributing to the sustained use of Japan's fishery resources. With the reduction in fishery resources and ongoing changes in the international economic environment, the output of Japan's domestic fishery industry has dropped sharply in recent years. This situation calls for the implementation of new measures.

This project will carefully examine and analyze the factors contributing to the declining output of Japan's domestic fishery industries in order to evaluate and analyze fishery resources management systems. In the past, Japan's fishery resources have been primarily evaluated and analyzed from the perspective of biological resource management, while limited attention has been paid to the economic perspective. Determining the economic impact of fishery resources management systems will enable the evaluation of various types of systems from an economic perspective, which will contribute to design and formulation of fishery resources management systems.

By conducting quantitative evaluation and analysis for use in administrative reform discussions and by developing concrete policy recommendations, this project is expected to help establish new directions in fishery resources management systems with an emphasis on the economic perspective.

2008

The purpose of this project is to evaluate the performance and system of fishery resources management, primarily from an economic perspective, with the aim of contributing to the sustained use of Japan's fishery resources. With the reduction in fishery resources and ongoing changes in the international economic environment, the output of Japan's domestic fishery industry has dropped sharply in recent years. This situation calls for the implementation of new measures. As seen from the fact that the second report of the Council for the Promotion of Regulatory Reform (December 2007) explicitly refers to reforming the management of fishery resources, this constitutes an important theme that must be dealt with promptly in order not to miss the opportunity for making policy recommendations.

This project will carefully examine and analyze the factors contributing to the declining output of Japan's domestic fishery industries in order to evaluate and analyze fishery resources management systems. In the past, Japan's fishery resources have been primarily evaluated and analyzed from the perspective of biological resource management, while limited attention has been paid to the economic perspective. Determining the economic impact of fishery resources management systems will enable the evaluation of various types of systems from an economic perspective, which will contribute to design and formulation of fishery resources management systems.

By conducting quantitative evaluation and analysis for use in administrative reform discussions and by developing concrete policy recommendations, this project is expected to help establish new directions in fishery resources management systems with an emphasis on the economic perspective.

May 23, 2008 - June 30, 2010