Chris Loew

Japanese companies have begun to release plant-based seafood analogs at an increased rate, but unlike in the U.S. and Europe, where animal welfare is a major motivation for consumers’ turn toward vegetarianism, most Japanese product releases are promoted simply as health-focused or as… Read More

A recent study has investigated the unique challenges of managing the global octopus fishery.

Global octopus landings in 2020 totaled 377,818 metric tons (MT), according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). China landed 27.8 percent of this total, while countries in West Africa, including Morocco and Mauritania, accounted for 24 percent of the catch.

Other large producers of octopus include Mexico, which hauled in 9.2 percent of the

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Local Japanese cooperatives remain wary of a change to Japan’s Basic Fisheries Law that grants corporations access to both aquaculture sites and fishery grounds in certain instances, but one fixed-net operator is showing how the change can be beneficial to the country’s seafood… Read More

Japanese companies are increasingly applying for aquaculture patents for a range of applications, getting in on an investment trend that neighboring China has been heavily involved in for over a decade. Japanese marine products company Nissui is one of many companies that have applied for multiple… Read More

Tokyo, Japan-based Kyokuyo Co. – Japan’s fourth-largest seafood company in total sales – recently suffered a year-over-year dip in sales and profits, the company reported in its financial results for the period 1 April through 31 December 2023.

Net sales for Kyokuyo were down 5.5 percent year over year, totaling JPY 201.6 billion (USD 1.3 billion, EUR 1.2 billion), and operating profit dropped 14.5 percent, slipping to JPY 6.94

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The Fisheries Research Institute at Kindai University in Higashiosaka, Japan, announced it succeeded in achieving closed-cycle breeding with Japanese eels by raising parent fish from artificial seedlings. This feat was first accomplished in 2010 by Japan’s Fisheries Research Agency (FRA),… Read More

South Korea's seafood imports from Japan fell 12.8 percent by value in 2023, compared with a year earlier, to approximately USD 151.9 million (EUR 140.3 million), according to Korea Customs Service data.

The figures are for H.S. Code 03 – “Fish and crustaceans, mollusks and other aquatic invertebrates.” The Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported the drop was the biggest year-on-year decline since 2012, the year after

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The operating income of Tokyo, Japan-based Maruha Nichiro dropped 5.9 percent to JPY 25.4 billion (USD 168.7 million, EUR 155.9 million) for the period stretching from April to December 2023. Maruha Nichiro – the world’s largest seafood company by revenue – was stung by the poor… Read More

A change to Japan’s national fisheries law has granted aquaculture site access to corporations in certain instances, worrying members of local fishing cooperatives who fear these large businesses will take over sites previously reserved for them and reduce their status to mere employees… Read More

Restaurants in Japan are working to expand consumption of onigiri, or Japanese rice balls, by making the traditionally simple product a gourmet experience for consumers through careful ingredient selection and the addition of unique flavors. Those efforts have started to pay off. Yumiko Ukon, the… Read More