In response to tougher international restrictions on tuna catches, Japan's Fisheries Agency today announced a plan to reduce its longline tuna fishing boats by 10 to 20 percent.
Last November, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas cut the 2009 Atlantic bluefin catch quota by about 20 percent. In December, the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission agreed to reduce bigeye catches by 30 percent over three years.
The agency's plan calls for the present fleet of 390 ocean-going boats to be cut by 50 to 80 and the 349 coastal tuna boats by 40 to 50.
The plan could leave about 1,000 fishermen jobless and result in higher tuna prices in Japan.
The Fisheries Agency will receive applications for withdrawals for tuna fishing until the end of March and pay maximum compensations of JPY100 million (USD 1.2 million) for scrapping boats.
