Fisheries minister Hirotaka Akamatsu on Tuesday dispelled public concerns fueled by an international tuna conservation body's decision to cut the annual tuna catch, saying Japan has ample stocks of frozen tuna due to the recession.
"I want people to know that there is no reason to fear tuna prices will spike or that the inventories of tuna will run out," the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries said at a news conference.
Japan has about 25,000 tons of bluefin and southern bluefin tuna in inventory — most in the past decade. Because there is ample inventory, the agency predicts tuna prices are unlikely to rise anytime soon.
Commenting on the decision Sunday by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas to slash the annual bluefin catch limit by some 40 percent in 2010, Akamatsu said, "It's good that we can continue fishing for tuna."