The head of the Russian delegation was Alexey Baitalyuk, Deputy Director - Head of the Pacific Branch of VNIRO (TINRO), the head of the Japanese delegation was Toshihide Iwasaki, Head of the Research Planning Section of the Center for the Study of Fishing Resources of the Research Institute of Fishing Resources of the Institution of Fisheries Research and Education of Japan. The Russian delegation included employees of the Pacific, Sakhalin and Kamchatka branches of VNIROKH. The Japanese delegation includes scientists from the Research Institute of Fishing Resources, the Research Institute of Fishing Technology, as well as employees of the Department of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan.
Traditionally, during the meeting, scientists and specialists from the two countries gave an assessment of the state of stocks of objects that are especially important for fishermen in Russia and Japan. These are salmon, pollock, saury, mackerel, sardine, lemongrass and squid. The meeting will help the fishermen of the two countries to conduct effective fishing in 2022.
The results of the meeting will be used in reaching agreements between Russia and Japan on the allocation of catch quotas on a reciprocal basis in 200-mile zones of both countries for 2022. Intergovernmental negotiations on this issue (the 38th session of the Russian-Japanese Fisheries Commission) will be held in December 2021.
Scientists of the two countries have recently been paying special attention to saury and mackerel. Saury is a very popular fish both in Russia and in Japan. But in the last two or three years, the condition of its stocks has deteriorated, and catches have significantly decreased. As for mackerel, scientists believe that, given the large catch in open waters and the impossibility of accurately predicting future replenishment, it is necessary to closely monitor the further dynamics of the stock of this important resource.
As a result of the meeting, a protocol and a joint report on the state of fishing resources were prepared, and draft plans for cooperation between scientists of the two countries in the field of fisheries research for 2022 and 2023 were agreed.
VNIRO Press Service