Date: Sun, 20 Jul 2008 17:04:59 +0900

I am strongly afraid of increasing cull limit of Steller sea lions by Japanese Fisheries (see http://hymatsuda.blogspot.com/2008/04/date-tue-29-apr-2008-174020-0900-i-do.html). A few days ago I joined the advisory committee meeting for sea lion problems organized by Japan Fisheries Agency. The actual number of culled sea lions was ... smaller than the original cull limit. Although no Japanese environmental NGOs officially supported my opinion, I feel relatively happy. ... I also requested transparency of by-catch report of sea lions too. ...I ...discussed some incentive measures for fishermen to report bycatch record. I believe a step of advance in sea lions management in Japan. This is also very important for Shiretoko World Heritage.