EXCLUSIVE: Japan to Create Catch Certificate System for Sea Cucumber

June 15, 2018

Tokyo- Japan's Fisheries Agency plans to create a catch certificate system for domestic sea cucumber, informed sources told Jiji Press on Thursday.

Exports of illegally hunted sea cucumber are rampant due to high prices, with some gang groups using them as a source of revenue, the sources said. Domestic sea cucumber, mainly produced in the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido and Aomori Prefecture, northeastern Japan, is popular abroad, they said.

Under the new system, customs offices will request certificates of origin issued by prefectural fishermen's cooperative associations to prevent gang involvement in sea cucumber exports.

The agency plans to introduce the system as early as 2020, the sources said.

Catch certificate systems based on international rules have been introduced for bluefin tuna and other fish, but this will be the first original system created by Japan.

Japan's total exports of sea cucumber stood at some 21 billion yen in 2017, the third-largest fisheries export following scallops and mackerel.

Sea cucumber is often traded directly between fishermen and processors.

The agency hopes to secure profits for fishermen by eliminating illegal hunting with the new system.

Most of the sea cucumber produced in Japan is exported to Hong Kong and China after being dried. Dried sea cucumber is currently exported for around 28,000 yen per kilogram, chiefly thanks to the growth of the Chinese economy.

Sea cucumber is generally served raw as a pickled dish in Japan, while it is used as a luxury dish in Chinese restaurants abroad.

Under the current law, police need to catch sea cucumber poachers red-handed.

It is difficult for police to arrest poachers amid a manpower shortage and the increasing sophistication of illegal hunting, pundits said. In 2015, police detected an illegal hunting case involving some 190 million yen in Aomori. Jiji Press