Japan has one of the biggest fish markets in the entire world. Its regulations are also some of the laxest when it comes to cracking down on illegal fishing, making it a destination for criminal fishing enterprises.
Will you sign the petition asking Japan to crack down on their illegal fishing problem before the Olympics there in 2021?
The European Union, the United States, Japan, China, and South Korea are the world's largest seafood importers. While four of them have been working to crack down on illegal fishing to curtail overfishing and decimating certain ocean populations, Japan lags way behind. That means marine species that are illegally caught are then sent to Japan, where unlawful fishing and importing isn't punished.
The summer Olympics are going to be in Tokyo in 2021. That makes now the perfect time to demand Japan passes actual legislation to close the loophole of illegal fishing in their system. Right now, their processing plants do not require certification of sourcing for the fish they receive. Since the legality of fishing depends on where they do it, it's impossible to tell simply by evaluating the species of seafood at a processing plant. For example, pollock are illegal to fish in the U.S. and legal to fish in Russia. Without requiring a regulated form of sourcing documentation, it's clear why criminal fishing operations choose Japan as their destination.
A study from 2015 found that illegal fish made up between 24 and 36 percent of fish sold in Japan. That is a huge number! Japan is the weak link among all global fish producers in terms of ending illegal and unsustainable fishing. Will you sign the petition urging them to change their laws and finally crack down on fishing for the sake of our oceans?