Prices in Japan have dropped 30 pct
By Atuna.com
Taiwanese fishing boats are catching huge volumes of bigeye tuna in Somalia’s pirate-infested waters, thanks to the presence of armed guards, according to The Asahi Shimbun newspaper. The boats have been selling to Japanese markets, which has caused retail prices to plunge.
Japanese vessels are unable to compete because it is illegal for them to take such protection measures, and they are experiencing lower catches in other waters.
The cost for armed guards for one boat is rumored to be USD 18,000, according to one boat owner in Muroto, Kochi Prefecture, who switched fishing grounds from the western side of the Indian Ocean to the Pacific.
Three guards are employed for each boat and they come armed with automatic weapons. The basic fee covers the amount of ammunition the security detail can use. Extra fees have to be paid if it is forced to fire more rounds than the limit.
The huge catches brought to Japan indicate the boats are making a profit even with the additional cost of a security detail.
The average wholesale price of frozen bigeye tuna for the period between August and October was between USD 10.80 and USD 11.40 per kilogram. That was about 15% lower than the prices for the same period in 2011.
According to officials of Chuo Gyorui Co., a wholesale company at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, bigeye tuna prices began falling from around May and had dropped by about 30% in early June.
Japan imported about 24,000 tons of bigeye tuna from Taiwan in the first half of 2012, and of this volume, 13,400 tons came from the Indian Ocean, according to catch certificates for imported tuna submitted to the Japanese Fisheries Agency. Imports from Taiwan increased by about 8,000 tons over the previous year and accounted for about half of all imports.
According to Foreign Ministry officials, there were 237 acts of piracy last year, the highest ever. While there has been a decrease this year, there have still been 70 cases of piracy so far.