Comments on Ecosystem Services

Date: Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:20:14 +0900
Dear all;
Summary:
1) We discriminate trends in ecosystem services from trends in its potential.
2) "Underuse" may be the 6th direct driving force for ES.
3) Marine Trophic Index in Japan did not show significant decrease.
4) Climate change may not be a big factor for past biodiversity losss in Japan. In future, we are worried about "underuse" (vegetation will be heavily eaten by deer).

We (organized by Insitute for Advanced Science, United Nations University at Yokohama, Japan) are writing Japan Subglobal Assessment for Millenium Ecosystem Assessment. More than fifty Japanese persons cooperate this project.
I am editing a chapter for change of direct driving forces of Japanese
Ecosystem services. This J-SGA will be published in English, but now we are
writing Japanese draft and now under internal review.
I attach a draft table: "Status, trends, factors and impacts on human well-being of ecosystem services" (this is still immature).
In this draft, we show "trends in service" and "trends in potential". Because Japan imports timbers and forests in Japan increases their volume.
And, we added "underuse" as the 6th direct driving force. I also show the marine trophic index of Japanese fisheries, that did not show a significant decline but decreased in 1980s due to a big catch amount of sardine.
As draft GBO3 referred to Worm, Hilborn et al (2009), 1/3 of fisheries resources are recovering, while 1/3 are still overfished and 1/3 are above MSY level and their fishing rate is below MSY level. Worm et al (2009) do not include the data from Japanese fisheries. However, I think their result is similar in Japan.
Fisheries Research Agency of Japan showed the sum of biological allowable catch of several major reources is >2 million tons.
I usually recommend eating lower trophic level fish -- "eating down". Fishing down is clear in north Atlantic Ocean, possibly because the western
people eat higher trophic level fish. People in developing countries eat lower trophic level fish and no significant fishing down in their fishing ground. Chinese and Japanese eat everything, but recently MTI in China showed a clear fishing down, while MTI in Japan did not.

In Japan, climate change is not recognized as a big factor of the previous loss of biodiversity
Yours,

NHK Radio Japan Interview on ICCAT bluefin tuna

Radio program started from 14:00JST on Nov 16:

Q1:　About how low have the Atlantic bluefin tuna stocks now fallen?

A1:　Well, Bluefin Tuna are caught in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, but the decline of the Atlantic population has been particularly severe. ...
The so-called ranching of tuna from the late 1990’s, especially in the European Mediterranean, has been especially to blame. These tuna ranches take young wild tuna from the sea and fatten them up for periods of 6 months to about 2 years prior to shipment. Almost all are sent to Japan, where tuna’s fatty flesh called “toro” is popular.
Tuna fetches a high price here because it is so popular in sushi. It has become such an attractive foreign currency earner that other countries ... have also been leaping onto the bandwagon. The moves are boosting tuna production.

Q2:　But what is so wrong with tuna ranching?

A2:　The biggest problem is that there is no way to gauge how many young tuna are being caught and put into the ranches. ... Regardless of the volume of catch, Catching juveniles, rather than older ones, poses great impact on the species’ population. The present method of stock management would not help control tuna ranching.

Q3:　And has ICCAT been doing anything about all of this so far?

A3:　... There have been no big fines for over-fishing, under-report of catches and so on ... There has been no effective international monitoring system. ... But reports show that the amount of tuna actually being distributed remains far higher than the declared volume of catch.

Q4:　... We have been talking with Professor Matsuda on the phone to hear his immediate reaction to those decisions.

A4:　These decisions are still controvertial. Some countries and ecologists may not be satisfied. If the resolutions are not obeyed, recommendations to add tuna to the CITES Appendix I will likely be made at the Convention’s Conference of Parties next spring. As with whales, tuna fishing could be banned.
The one issue that we have to consider sincerely is the responsibility of the bluefin tuna consumer. ... Japanese consumption has been driving the expansion of these ranches and decline of bluefin tuna population. The price of bluefin tuna is still cheap, it should be much higher. Many Japanese people have continued eating the bluefin tuna frequently. The important thing for the future is to eat the fish much rarely, a few times a year. Japanese consumers can control the global tuna market.