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Mackerel Fishing Restriction Generates Superior Biomass in 2007

November 20, 2008

The Fisheries Agency announced on November 18, 2008 that, after years of extensive efforts for the resource recovery of mackerel in the Pacific, it had confirmed the generation of the '07 superior biomass by leaving parent fish untouched.


Fishing restrictions, in combination with management of allowable fishing quantities began in 2003; limited fishing of the '04 superior biomass was then implemented.


The effect of leaving a certain class of the fish indicated that the '04 biomass contained the second highest quantity of parent fish since 1990's, leading to the creation of the '07 superior biomass.


Environmental conditions of the '07 biomass formation were worse than what other years of top-quality biomass endured; nonetheless, it is considered that the quantity of parent fish greatly contributed to the establishment of a higher-grade biomass.


At this time, the quantity of the '07 superior biomass is 2.4 billion, following 2.8 billion of '92; 3.7 billion of '04; and 4.3 billion of '96, the only four years with a record of more than 2 billion mackerel biomass since 1990's.


As a result of concentrative fishing of smaller mackerel, consisting of zero and one-year old fish, the superior biomass of '92 and '96 suffered a tremendous reduction of the quantity of three-year-old parent fish, ending in failure of the regeneration.


The original article was published on November 20, 2008 and was translated by Kiyo Hayasaka.

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