Development of a Community-Based Fishery Management System in Japan

The development of Japan's community-based fishery management system is described. Over the past 250 years, three fishery laws were in effect. These fishery laws commonly adopted a fishing rights system as a tool for coastal fisheries management. During the feudal era until 1867, the fishing right system was used mainly to collect a fishery tax. The fishing right system established by the Old Fishery Law (1901-1947) helped to reduce conflicts between fishermen exploiting the same resources with different gears. The Current Fishery Law, enacted in 1949, has led to "Territorial Use Rights in Fisheries" by limiting its coverage to sedentary resources and non-mobile gear. At the same time, the Current Fishery Law created a system to establish coastal fishery management plans through fishing rights and licenses. These innovations have motivated fishermen to create the community-based coastal fisheries management system. Since the inception of the Current Fishery Law in 1949, the number of fishery management organizations created increased annually to a total of 1524 in 1993.