Trade and Management: Exclusive Economic Zones and the Changing Japanese Surimi Market

The United States' increasing competitive advantage in international seafood trade in Alaska walleye pollock. Theragra chalcogramma, has contributed to higher prices for surimi-based goods and structural changes in seafood production and trade in Japan. The objectives of this analytical investigation include: 1) Evaluation of the role reversal of Japan and the United States in international seafood trade and 2) quantification of the impact of rising prices of frozen surimi on household consumption of surimi-based foods in Japan. This study documents Japan's regression from "seafood self-sufficiency" to increasing dependence on imported products and raw materials. In particular, Japan's growing dependence on American fishermen and seafood producers is described. Surimi production by the United States, and its emerging dominance over Japanese sources of supply, are especially significant. Results of the analysis suggest that Japanese consumer demand for surimi-based food stuffs correlates directly with "competitive" food prices, e.g., pork, chicken, and beef, and inversely with personal income. Also revealed is how rising household income and relative price shifts among competing animal protein sources in the Japanese diet have contributed to declining household consumption of surimi-based foods, specifically, and a shift away from seafoods in favor of beef, in general. The linkages between, for example. Japanese domestic seafood production and consumption, international trade in marine products, and resource management decisions in the U.S. EEZ present a picture of a changing global marketplace. Increasingly, actions in one arena will have perhaps profound implications in the others.

U. S. Trade in Tuna for Canning, 1987

U.S. tuna fleet activity, canned tuna processing, ex-vessel, wholesale and retail prices and imports in 1987 are described and compared to their counterparts in previous years. Industry statistics gathered from government agencies and industry contacts are presented in 14 figures and 8 tables. In 1987, U.S. tuna fisheries delivered 253,136 short tons (tons) of tuna to U.S. canneries. Domestic deliveries of albacore (white-meat) tuna were 2,836 tons, down 20 percent from 1986 levels. Domestic deliveries of tropical (light-meat) tuna (bigeye, blackfin, bluefin, skipjack, and yellowfin) were 251,000 tons, up 12 percent. Contract prices for tuna delivered by U. S. vessels to U. S. canneries increased dramatically in 1987. Depending on the size of fish in the delivery, ex-vessel prices of white-meat tuna increased as much as 27 percent, and prices of light-meat tuna increased as much as 47 percent. U. S. cannery receipts of imported and domestically caught raw frozen tuna for canning totaled 532,704 tons in 1987, up 2 percent from 1986 levels. U.S. cannery receipts of white-meat tuna were 104,197 tons, down 10 percent from 1986. Imports made up 97 percent of the total cannery supply. Total 1987 U. S. cannery receipts of raw, frozen light meat tuna were 428,507 tons, up 5 percent from 1986 levels. Imports made up 41 percent of the total cannery supply. The 1987 U.S. pack of canned tuna was 33.6 million standard cases, up 3 percent from 1986. The pack of white-meat tuna was 7.2 million standard cases, down 11 percent from 1986; the pack of light-meat tuna was 26.4 million standard cases, up 7 percent. U. S. imports of canned tuna in 1987 were 10.8 million standard cases, down 11 percent from 1986 levels, the first time in recent years that imports have declined. Per capita consumption of canned tuna in the United States was 3.5 pounds in 1987, down slightly from 1986. The retail composite price was $2.26 per pound, unchanged from 1986.

Economic and Trade Strategies in World Fisheries

This special section of the Marine Fisheries Review contains the edited proceedings of a symposium held on 16 September 1987 at the annual meetings of the American Fisheries Society in Winston-Salem, N.C. The symposium was sponsored by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the International Institute of Fisheries Economics and Trade. The aim of this session was to provide an overview of several international trade issues that affect the development of fisheries economic policy. Thus, the general areas of discussion included: The role of fisheries in the U.S. balance of trade, current negotiations on fisheries trade and tariffs, and U.S. and foreign economic trade strategies and policies.

Toward a Rational Seafood Trade Policy

With a record trade deficit of almost $146 billion in 1986, and continued high deficits in 1987, there is growing concern about how continued deficits will affect the U. S. economy. Because fishery products had a record $6.3 billion deficit in 1986, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has made the reduction of the fisheries trade deficit one of its top priorities. A recent NMFS trade objective was to "increase exports and domestic consumption of U.S. fishery products" which would lead to a reduction in the trade deficit. In this paper we explore this policy in terms of practicality and desirability.

U.S. Fisheries Management and Foreign Trade Linkages: Policy Implications for Groundfish Fisheries in the North Pacific EEZ

The groundfish resources of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off Alaska, dominated by Alaska or walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma, Pacific cod, Gadus macrocephalus, and flatfishes, Pleuronectidae, can sustain annual commercial harvests well in excess of 2 million metric tons (t). As recently as 1979, foreign fisheries took 99 percent of the annual harvest supported by these resources. This has changed dramatically during the 1980's. The foreign fisheries have received rapidly decreasing allocations, first as joint venture fisheries expanded and, more recently, as the domestic fisheries have grown. Joint venture fisheries are fisheries in which domestic fishing vessels deliver their catch directly to foreign processing vessels in the EEZ. By 1986, the joint venture and domestic fisheries accounted for 66 percent and 8 percent, respectively, of the annual harvest. The preliminary corresponding figures for 1987 are 78 and 18 percent.

Choosing the best model in the presence of zero trade: a fish product analysis

The purpose of the paper is to test the hypothesis that food safety (chemical) standards act as barriers to international seafood imports. We use zero-accounting gravity models to test the hypothesis that food safety (chemical) standards act as barriers to international seafood imports. The chemical standards on which we focus include chloramphenicol required performance limit, oxytetracycline maximum residue limit, fluoro-quinolones maximum residue limit, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) pesticide residue limit. The study focuses on the three most important seafood markets: the European Union’s 15 members, Japan, and North America.

International legal instruments relevant to fisheries and fishing communities : a handbook. Theme VII. Trade

This handbook provides detailed information for a wide range of legal instruments relevant to fisheries and fishworkers. It covers 114 legal instruments, categorized into the following seven themes: Theme I. Human Rights, Food Security, Women and Development. Theme II. Environment and Sustainable Development. Theme III. Oceans and Fisheries Management. Theme IV. Environmental Pollution Theme V. Fishing Vessels and Safety at Sea Theme VI. Labour Theme VII. Trade The handbook also includes the working of the instruments (decision-making bodies, monitoring and implementation agencies, periodicity of meetings, rules for participation in meetings of the decision-making bodies and implementation agencies for States and non-governmental organizations), regional instrument and agencies. Apart from being a ready reckoner to the instruments, it highlights the important sections of relevance to fisheries or small-scale fisheries and fishworkers. The companion CD-ROM provides the full texts of the instruments in a searchable database. The handbook will be useful for fishworker and non-governmental organizations, and also for researchers and others interested in fisheries issues.

Trade secrets: a ten year overview of the illegal import of sea turtle products into the United States

For more than 25 years all sea turtle products have been prohibited from international commerce by the 170-member nations of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Sea turtles continue to be threatened by direct take (including poaching) and illegal trade despite multi-national protection efforts. Although take may contribute significantly to sea turtle decline, illegal take is difficult to measure since there are few quantified records associated with legal fisheries and fewer still for illegal take (poaching). We can, however, quantify one portion of the illegal sea turtle trade by determining how many illegal products were seized at United States ports of entry over a recent 10-year period. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) oversees the import and export of wildlife and wildlife products, ensuring that wildlife trade complies with United States laws and international treaties. Additionally, the USFWS has legal authority to target suspected illegal wildlife activity through undercover and field investigations. In an effort to assess the scale of illegal sea turtle take and trade, we have conducted a 10-year (1994 – 2003) review of the law enforcement database maintained by the USFWS. This database tracks the number and type of wildlife cases, the quantity of seized products, and the penalties assessed against violators. These data are minimum estimates of the sea turtle products passing through the United States borders, as smuggled wildlife is oftentimes not detected.