Lessons Learned from the Rehabilitation and Management Strategies of Sailfin Sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicas (Steindachner 1881) Fisheries in Akita, Japan

The catch of the sailfin sandfish, Arctoscopus japonicas (Steindachner 1881), from the coastal waters off Akita Prefecture declined to more than 10,000 tonnes in the mid-1970s and in 1991, the catch was only 70 tonnes. In 1992, on the recommendation of the Akita Prefectural Fisheries Promotion Center (FPC) the area was closed to fishing for 3 years. By 2002, the recorded catch was 2,112 tonnes, a significant improvement in 10 years. This study investigated the rationale for the acceptance of the sandfish fishing closure by the fishermen and the subsequent management strategies that led to the successful recovery of the sandfish population. The study concluded that the following factors played a vital role in the successful recovery of the sandfish population: (1) a reliable leader that was able to unite all the sandfish fishermen into a collective entity; (2) opportunity cost to sandfish fishermen were already low, so the closure had little impact on existing incomes from this fishery; (3) consensus among the sandfish fishermen; and (4) use of scientific data to demonstrate the serious decline of the sandfish stock and to predict the subsequent stock recovery.