Japan firm on fishing line

Press, 8 May 1978, Page 6

Japan firm on fishing line

• NZPA-Reuter Tokyo Japan's Minister of Agriculture (Mr Ichiro Nakagawa) says that his country has readjusted its fishery relations with major nations which have recently established their own 200-mile fishing zones — except with | New Zealand. I Asked to comment about I Japan-New Zealand fishery relations Mr Nakagawa expressed the hope that problems would be settled before next (northern) autumn,

I when the fishing season fori some species reopened. But he emphasised that Japan had no fresh offer to make other than the offers made in Wellington last February to the Prime Minister (Mr Muldoon) by a former Agriculture Minister, Mr Zenko Suzuki. 1 New Zealand has declined to permit Japanese i fishermen to work in its I zone, declared on April 1, unless Jaoan agrees to import ;more dairy products, meat,: •and timber. j All Japanese fishing boats; ileft New Zealand’s expanded;

fishing zone before it was enforced.

Mr Nakagawa said that what he could do now was to ask New Zealand to study Japan’s earlier reply again. Mr Suzuki had offered that Japan buy New Zealand dairy products to give as food' aid to developing countries. Japan could not expand imports of livestock products. In the last few months, Japan has signed new fishery • agreements with the United (States, Canada, the Soviet (Union. South Africa, and I Portugal, allowing Japanese i

continued fishing within their 200-mile zones. She has initialled a similar agreement with Papua New Guinea.

Mr Nakagawa said that he saw no trouble in starting and concluding talks with Australia, which was expected to establish its own 200mile zone soon.

The Fishery Agency said that Japan’s total fish catch in 1976 had been 10,656.000 tonnes, with 3.5 M tonnes coming from the 200-mile zones of foreign nations, including 166,000 tonnes from i New Zealand waters.