Japan to propose 15% cut in Pacific bluefin tuna fishing

(REUTERS) - Japan plans to propose a 15 per cent reduction in the catch of immature Pacific bluefin tuna in 2014 to arrest the depletion in the natural stock of the fish, the Nikkei reported.

The proposal will be for fish up to three years old and will be made in September in Fukuoka at a meeting of the Northern Committee, part of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, the business daily said.

The committee has more than 20 members, including Japan, the United States, South Korea and Taiwan, the newspaper said.

The International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean (ISC) had said in a report in July that natural stock of bluefin tuna in the North Pacific was at an all-time low, according to the Nikkei.

The United States has urged a 25 per cent cut, the newspaper said.

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