History and international characteristics of fishery resource management in Japan

Abstract

For 1300 years the Japanese Fishery Institution has adhered to a philosophy of "Resource Preservation and Breeding by Resource Users Themselves". Recent resource management policies such as the Resource Management Agreement System or the Agreement System provided in the TAC Law are also voluntary agreements con-ducted by local fishermen, and are worth promoting in view of their administrative cost effectiveness, flexibility and political philosophy. On the other hand, the US-type resource management is basically a dual system, which means "Resource Management by the Government, and Resource Use by Citizens". Therefore, the viewpoint of "resource management via daily fishing activities" is important for Japanese fishery science.