Chris Loew

Chris Loew

Contributing Editor reporting from Osaka, Japan

Chris Loew reports from Osaka, Japan as a contributing editor for SeafoodSource.com. In addition to writing for SeafoodSource.com, he covers Japan for stock-investing newsletter Global Investing. He co-authored a college language text, “Healthcare English:  Read, Write and Speak It.” When not writing, he proofreads Japanese-to-English translations. Chris is a 1990 graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After graduation, he worked for two years in the purchasing department of a Japanese meat importer, and for five years as export director for two Seattle food companies, selling to customers in the Far East, and arranging shipping and export documentation for mixed containers of frozen foods.


Author Archive

Published on
June 1, 2022

Members of Anti IUU Forum Japan have issued a joint statement to Japanese government officials recommending steps that should be taken to fight illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

The Anti IUU Forum Japan is a group of organizations promoting sustainable fisheries that includes WWF Japan, Seafood Legacy Co., The Nature Conservancy, Sailors for the Sea Japan. 

Their "Joint Statement on Domestic Trade of

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Published on
May 26, 2022

Kyokuyo, Japan's fourth-largest seafood company, reported positive consolidated financial results for the year ended 31 March, 2022 …

Photo courtesy of

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Published on
May 20, 2022

Nippon Suisan Kaisha announced positive financial results for fiscal year 2021, as it plans to formally change its name to Nissui Corporation 

Photo courtesy

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Published on
May 20, 2022

Though numerous land-based aquaculture projects are in the works in Japan, there are questions as to whether these new start-ups will be able to turn a profit.

One small-scale start-up producer near Osaka, Japan, is already operating in the black and showcasing how to succeed at land-based aquaculture using something other than an recirculating aquaculture system, which have become the most-popular choice for new land-based farms being built in

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Published on
May 11, 2022

Tokyo, Japan-based Maruha Nichiro Corporation reported improved consolidated financial results for its fiscal year ending 31 March, 2022. The company’s net sales were JPY 866.7 billion (USD 6.67 billion, EUR 6.31 billion) in the past 12 months, up 7.1 percent year-on-year.  … 

Photo courtesy of Maruha

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Published on
May 4, 2022

Two Japanese start-ups are reporting success farming purple sea urchins. Urchinomics and Kita-Sanriku Factory Inc. both attended the Osaka Seafood Show on 13 and 14 April, 2022, in Osaka, Japan ... 

Photo courtesy of Chris

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Published on
April 29, 2022

Cobia is beginning to find wider distribution in Japan, with Okinawa-based production companies starting to make inroads into local markets.

Farmed production of the species started in the early 1990s in Taiwan – where it is a popular, indigenous species – and it is now a major aquaculture species there. Its fast growth – it reaches four to eight kilograms in one to 1.5 years – makes it ready quickly.

However,

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Published on
April 27, 2022

Despite mounting tensions, Japan and Russia have successfully concluded talks on salmon and trout fishing on 22 April. Japan applied sanctions to Russia after its invasion of Ukraine in February, 

Japan has agreed to pay Russia from USD 1.6 million to USD 2.3 million (EUR 1.5 million to EUR 2.1 million), depending on the catch total, for fish caught in its own exclusive economic zone (EEZ) north of Hokkaido. The payment

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Published on
April 22, 2022

Tokyo, Japan-basedbased Marubeni Corporation and Norway-based Proximar Seafood AS have announced an agreement making Marubeni the exclusive distributor in Japan of Atlantic salmon produced by the recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) Proximar is building in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan …

Photo courtesy of

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Published on
April 22, 2022

The Seventh Annual Session of the Commission of the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC) was postponed until further notice after some members felt it would be difficult to proceed due to the invasion of Ukraine and related sanctions against Russia, as Russia was scheduled to chair the meeting.

According to The Pew Charitable Trusts Senior Officer for International Fisheries Grantly Galland, the NPFC is failing to address the critical issue

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