Japan’s disaster may affect Europe’s tuna industry

Japan’s crisis came up during a hearing on tuna farming in the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament today.

Bluefin tuna analyst Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi told the Committee that he had been informed that the Japanese government has ordered the suspension of bluefin tuna imports. ”They are not going to spend money on luxury imports now,” he said.

An import ban has not been confirmed by the Japanese government, but Roberto Mielgo Bregazzi said that he had received such indications from several Spanish tuna ranches. “They have received phone calls from their Japanese business partners canceling pre-earthquake tuna deals,” he said.

Juan Serrano, CEO of Spanish tuna producer Grup Balfegó, wanted to downplay the decline in the Japanese market. “They called me from Japan this morning asking for more tuna. I have not noticed any changes,” he said. “It is possible that sales will go down in the areas most affected by the earthquake, but I expect sales to continue in the south of Japan.”

Japan is an important export market for the European tuna industry, as the country is estimated to consume nearly 80 percent of the world’s catches of bluefin tuna.

The CEO of Australia's Southern Bluefin Tuna Association has said the earthquake and tsunami in Japan won't affect the Australian tuna industry. But Brian Jeffriess says two of Japan's major ports have been destroyed, making it extremely difficult when it comes to the Japanese fishing season in May.

He says there are other ports available but they aren't as close to the main fishing areas. "If you don't rebuild in those coastal ports, then it's that much more difficult to get the fish in premium quality to the market," he said.

"This is the area where those fish which are very valuable fish, the couple of hundred thousand dollars per fish, are caught, and that kind of premium is very difficult to obtain unless you are very close to the port."

Times of Malta reports Azzopardi Fisheries managing director Charles Azzopardi saying that the Japanese company he deals with has five cold stores around the country "but they are experiencing problems to operate them because electricity is being rationed.”

"Anticipating a difficult year for the tuna industry, Mr Azzopardi said the price would probably crash given that luxury goods were less likely to be on people’s minds as concerns over the availability of staple food and the provision of shelters eclipsed everything else."