Japan's early summer saury fishing expedition in the northern Pacific is expected to be skipped for a third year because of bad catches and increasing fears Russia could seize Japanese fishing boats amid tensions over Ukraine.
A Tokyo-based saury fishing cooperative said Thursday that no fishing boat is likely to take part in an annual fishing expedition on high seas in the North Pacific Ocean that runs from May to July, citing the risks of sailing through Russia's exclusive economic zone.
Japanese fishing boats usually sail within the zone extending 200 nautical miles, or 370 kilometers, from the Russian coastline to reach their saury fishing area.