SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC IMPACT OF FARMING
Two million people are estimated to be engaged in mariculture in Japan, with women and older workers involved in all stages of yellowtail culture and trade except for harvest of the wild fish. Most yellowtail products are handled by the fishermen’s cooperative association (FCA) which also provide working capital (as loans) to purchase seed and feed. Traditionally, the FCA used to sell the products to the fish markets in neighbouring towns and cities. However, more recently, supermarket chains purchase the product at lower prices in order to guarantee their yearly contracts. Hence producer’s prices and farmer’s profits have fallen.
In an effort to create higher returns, there has been an increase in intensive net pen culture, which has in turn caused water pollution, increased the occurrence of red tides, but also decreased the number of feeding days. Many family-owned aquaculture businesses have gone bankrupt as they have been unable to keep up with the production costs. Such businesses have transferred their aquaculture rights to others and have often become employees of such new operations. The number of existing mariculture farms has declined dramatically.
Although consumers in Japan can purchase cheaper and higher quality fish from the new chain of discount shops, the purchasing power of the Japanese public has decreased because of the extraordinary demand for quality and low prices in international competition.
Trade of farmed fish
The consumer is gradually accepting cultured fish as being of higher quality than wild fish, although high level restaurants still prefer wild rather than cultured fish. The strongest competitor for cultured yellowtail is not pork or beef, but wild small Buri (50–60 cm in body length) caught using set nets. If a large quantity of young Buri is landed at one time, their market price may drop as low as ?200–300/kg (US$1.9–2.9/kg), which is significantly cheaper that the lowest price for cultured yellowtail of ?800/kg (US$7.7/kg).
The market for cultured yellowtail can be divided into that for (i) high class Japanese restaurants that deal mainly in live fish, (ii) wholesale stores and supermarkets dealing with fresh and frozen fish, and (iii) direct delivery of processed fillets to individual restaurants and homes (Satoho and Homma, 1990).
Although yellowtail was once sold strictly by weight, consumers have now become more selective about product quality, and farmers have started to produce higher quality fish. Currently, branded farmed yellowtail fetch a higher price than other yellowtail and other cultured fish. Maintaining a stable quality product by discarding second grade fish, and paying special attention to maintaining freshness has become highly valued by the intermediate dealers. At supermarkets and retail fish stores, sales have expanded through the marketing of special brands of cultured fishes produced by such organizations as the Kagawa and Kagoshima Federation of Fisheries Cooperatives.
In order to maintain a high product quality, the fish should be fasted before harvesting, as it allows consumed food to be digested. Furthermore, to retain product freshness, the fish should be killed immediately after being taken from the water by severing the medulla oblongata, and bled by cutting the caudal artery. If it is impossible to treat the fish individually, they should be held in a tank with a large amount of chipped ice. If the moribund state is prolonged, or the fish are shipped without enough chilling, early rigor mortis reduces product quality. The quality of fish deteriorates very rapidly and it is vital to get the fish product to consumers quickly after harvest. With cold storage, fish can be served as sashimi for approximately three days, depending on rearing conditions and treatment after harvest. Rapid killing, bleeding, filleting, and proper packaging and refrigeration, can result in excellent quality yellowtail. Amberjack and gold-striped amberjack are more popular than yellowtail for sashimi as they can be kept for >3 three days under refrigeration without losing flavour, colour and firmness. Currently, demand for amberjack exceeds the supply.
Economic benefits and loses from aquaculture
Among the different parties involved in yellowtail aquaculture, the distributor usually gains the greatest economic benefit. The fishery cooperatives and fishing companies cooperate, manage the seed supply and marketing, and sometimes dominate management. Farmers receive relatively little economic benefit, and have thus become relegated to being only fish producers. Many aquaculturists sell their products through a relatively new system of direct sales, where private brokers buy fish directly from the producers and transport them to consumers using live-fish trucks. However, despite its popularity, many private brokers are experiencing difficulties because of serious “price competition”.
Seed production by artificial incubation for high priced fish can be lucrative. In comparison with adult fish culture, the seed fish business can easily be carried out, requiring only small ponds and limited technical knowledge. However, income from hatchery operations faces strong competition from seed material from the wild.
Fish farmers are currently also facing economic difficulties due to the stagnant national economy which has increased competition among the producers and brought a drastic decreased in the yellowtail market prices. There has been a 75 percent decrease in the number of yellowtail farmers in the last 30 years from the 4 162 enterprises in 1978 to 1 049 enterprises in 2004.
There are no full-time Mojako fishermen as this activity is rather a part-time job undertaken along with other fishing activities. Yellowtail farmers have concentrated in maximizing production and profits rather than determining proper farming densities and feeding regimes. Hence, management techniques have not developed. In 1999, legislation was enacted setting limits on the number of individual cultured fish per unit area, the amount of feed used and the number of cages per given area; this legislation is strictly enforced.