Russia releases Japanese fishing boat seized in waters off disputed islands
Russia has released a Japanese fishing boat seized last week in waters off islands claimed by Japan after confirming that a fine had been paid. The boat returned to Nemuro in Hokkaido on Monday evening from Kunashiri, one of the disputed islands called the Northern ...
Young female divers help keep tradition alive
As Japan's ama (female divers) numbers dwindle, younger divers strive to find ways to pass down the culture.
Suez Canal's invasive species driving Mediterranean marine life toward extinction
As Egypt marks the 150th anniversary of the opening of the Suez Canal, marine biologists are bemoaning one of the famed waterway's lesser-known legacies: the invasion of hundreds of nonnative species, including toxic jellyfish and aggressive lionfish. The canal, which connects the Red Sea to ...
U.S. West Coast fishery rebounds in rare 'conservation home run'
A rare environmental success story is unfolding in waters off the U.S. West Coast. After years of fear and uncertainty, bottom trawler fishermen — those who use nets to catch rockfish, bocaccio, sole, Pacific Ocean perch and other deep-dwelling fish — are making a comeback, ...
Russia releases five Japanese fishing boats seized off Hokkaido
Russia on Tuesday released five Japanese fishing boats seized in waters near Russian-held, Japan-claimed islands in mid-December. The release came after the crews of the boats paid a fine of some 6.4 million rubles (¥11 million) ordered by a Russian court Monday for violating regulations ...
Russian border security authorities seized five Japanese fishing vessels Tuesday and took them to the island of Kunashiri, one of the disputed Russian-held islands off Hokkaido, the Japanese government said. The seizure of the boats, which were operating under a bilateral agreement on fishing around ...
Loss-making Japanese public-private farm fund may be dissolved
The finance and farm ministries will "thoroughly" review the operations of a struggling public-private investment fund aimed at supporting the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries, and may opt to dissolve it, sources with knowledge of the matter said Thursday. They believe it would be difficult ...
Human link surmised in spread of infectious cancer in mussels
Mussels hitching a ride on ocean-going ships are likely responsible for the spread of an infectious cancer found in different species on either side of the Atlantic, scientists say. A recent study in the journal eLife suggests that human activity may "unwittingly be contributing to ...
Big chunk of world's scallops dies in mysterious circumstances in China
A "scallopocalypse" is laying waste to the popular delicacy in the Yellow Sea. Giant Chinese seafood supplier Zhangzidao Group said this week it had found that more than 80 percent of the scallops at a farm in the sea between China and the Koreas had ...
'Five shining stars' snow crab sells for world record ¥5 million in Japan
A snow crab caught off Tottori Prefecture sold for a record ¥5 million ($46,000) at auction, the local fisheries association said Thursday. The gourmet itsukiboshi (five shining stars) crab, weighing 1,240 grams and with a 14.6-cm (5.7-inch) shell, was caught after the fishing season opened ...
Talks on Antarctic marine sanctuary fail for eighth straight year
A multinational effort to create giant marine sanctuaries around Antarctica to counter climate change and protect fragile ocean ecosystems has failed for an eighth straight year, officials said Saturday. Opposition from China and Russia torpedoed the proposal at the annual meeting of the Commission for ...
Dwindling catches and soaring prices spell trouble for Hokkaido's 'squid town'
As wholesale prices skyrocket for Pacific flying squid amid a record low catch in Japan, processing companies in the "squid town" of Hakodate, Hokkaido, are scrambling to stay afloat. The squid shortage, caused by fluctuations in ocean temperatures, years of overfishing and lenient regulations, has ...
