Fisheries and Food Security in Japan's Rich Waters

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Japanese marine products, including whales, have been supplied by the fisheries that Japanese fishermen have been operating in the waters surrounding Japan, which are rich in marine resources. These waters surrounding Japan are rich in whale species and abundance, even from a global perspective. Also, they are one of the three major fishing grounds in the world.

Last of three parts

Read Part 1: Whales in the Context of Food Security

Part 2: Getting to Food Security with More Variety in Food Sources

*Fishermen inspect their catch at Taiji Fishing Port in Wakayama Prefecture on the morning of March 2, 2023. (©The Institute of Cetacean Research.)*

Japan's Rich Waters

It was natural and inevitable that whaling was practiced in the fishing industry developed in Japan. The country's fish-eating and whale-eating culture developed intrinsically. It can be said that the supply of a variety of marine products, including whales, from the surrounding waters has made it possible for a world-class population density to live in a small area of land. This was at least partially due to the presence of a variety of marine products.

Quantitatively speaking, if whale eating were to disappear due to the anti-whaling movement, the negative impact on food security would be very small. Moreover, it would likely be limited only to particular regions. However, its symbolic significance is a threat to global food security.

In the name of global standards, the use of various wild animals, including whales, as food is being denied. The idea of protecting pristine nature is not wrong, but if, as a result, developing countries and local residents living adjacent to rich natural environments are restricted or denied access to food and other sources of livelihood from that nature, their lives will be dependent on what happens in the outside world. This makes them vulnerable in terms of food security.

Of course, the use of natural resources must be sustainable. Overfishing must not be allowed.

However, it is one thing to say that whales are special animals and therefore not even one should be taken. It is quite another to restrict the hunting of whales to prevent overhunting. Is it really acceptable to deny the sustainable use of natural resources under the concept of protecting pristine nature?

*Harvesting the new rice crop in Tako Town, Chiba Prefecture, on November 6 (©Sankei by Masahiro Sakai).*

Risk In Globalization

Globalization of the food supply presents another problem. It invokes the environmental impact of producing, transporting, and also distributing food.

For example, when beef from the United States is imported and eaten in Japan, more than 20 times the amount of energy is used per kilocalorie of beef. To increase the weight of a cow by one kilogram, 11 kilograms of feed must be fed. And farmland, water, fertilizers, and pesticides are needed also to produce the grain and other materials that feed the cow.

About half of the farmland in the United States is used to produce livestock feed. For US beef to be consumed in Japan, it must be transported enormous distances. That increases emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, along with fuel consumption by ships and airplanes. If all of these factors are included in the calculation, the energy consumption would increase by a factor of 20 or more.

Read the rest of this report on Whaling Today for deeper and unique insights into Japanese whaling culture, whale conservation, as well as sustainable whaling.

This article is published in cooperation with the Institute of Cetacean Research in Japan. Let us hear your thoughts in our comments section.