Japanese Poached $5 Billion Worth Of Tunaff

Japanese fishermen have illegally caught more than AUS$5 billion worth of tuna in the past 20 years, a major report shows.

The report by a special panel of the international Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna found that Japan’s poaching amounted to an average of 8500 tons a year.

The over-fishing will be examined at a special meeting of the extended commission being held in Canberra today and tomorrow.

The discovery shocked the Australian tuna industry and is expected to have major ramifications for the sector and Japanese fishermen.

Local tuna fishermen feel the scandal has the potential to be a bigger international issue than the slaughter of whales by Japanese fishermen.

The report has also shocked the Port Lincoln fishing community, after years of being told southern bluefin tuna stocks were at dangerously low levels.

The Federal Government last night confirmed the meeting was examining a joint study by Australian and Japanese authorities into allegations of over-fishing.

A spokesman for Fisheries, Forestry and Conservation Minister Eric Abetz said the Government would be vigorously representing the Australian industry and the issue of international tuna stocks. The subject of preventing poaching in the future is expected to be high on the agenda.

The problem was discovered last year by the Australian Tuna Boat Owners Association following a close inspection of Japanese fish markets.