In Room A, Daisuke Matsui of Seafood Legacy announced the “Sustainable Seafood Platform.” Matsui explained that the purpose of this platform is to periodically gather seafood related business to share success stories from overseas, gather expert knowledge and formulate solutions that are suitable for each companies with the goal of connecting abundant oceans and businesses to the future.
Daisuke Matsui, Business Engagement Manager, Seafood Legacy
“With 2020 approaching and the world turning its attention to Japan, this is a crucial moment in which the step Japan takes next will dictate the future of the seafood industry. Under these circumstances, we established this Sustainable Seafood Platform in order for companies to be able to make the right decisions and take actions that will lead their businesses. All seafood related companies can participate in this platform for free. We believe that this will be a place for dialogue and cooperation between stakeholders that were not able to connect easily before. Our goal is to create a foundation that will encourage companies to conduct their businesses, enable companies to access useful information, and carry out initiatives that are appropriate to their reality and culture.”
Luncheon B: Tuna Sustainability Overview for the Japanese Market
In Room B, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP), an international NGO that mainly supports retailers in sustainable seafood procurement, introduced the idea of a roundtable for fresh and frozen tuna suppliers. This roundtable is a business-centric platform focused on tuna and will bring tuna suppliers together to hold workshops and discussions about realization of sustainable tuna fisheries as well as announce joint statements. In this first roundtable to take place in Japan, Tom Pickerell, global tuna director for SFP, talked about current tuna fishing ground management structure, challenges and solutions for tuna sustainability and the importance of the Japanese market. Pickerell highlighted the fact that Japan has a big influence in improving sustainability of the tuna market because more than 20% of the global tuna trade is exported to Japan.
Tom Pickerell, Sustainable Fisheries Partnership(SFP), Global Tuna Director
“Cooperation from a major buying country like Japan is essential in order to bring about change in the global tuna market. Japan has the power to make large-scale fishery improvements with its commercial purchasing power. In other words, Japan can exercise great influence on the global tuna market.”
