Japan's bid to expand the catch quotas for Pacific bluefin tuna by 15 percent — in light of the moderate recovery in its depleted stock following the catch limits introduced in 2015 — was turned down at a recent meeting of the Northern Committee of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Fukuoka due to opposition from two of its members. While Japan's call for raising the quotas was made in response to complaints from domestic fishermen that their livelihood is threatened by the catch limits, the lack of consensus at the regional conference indicates that an increase was still premature given that the bluefin tuna stock remains far below its peak in the 1960s.

Pacific bluefin tuna are in high demand in Japan for sashimi and as ingredients for high-grade sushi. However, overfishing in the past several decades has depleted its stocks — to the point where extinction of the species has come to be feared. The stock of adult Pacific bluefin tuna capable of breeding declined after peaking at some 170,000 tons in 1961 — falling to as low as 12,000 tons in 2010.

Under the current WCPFC regulations introduced to recover the stock, its member states and areas will keep their catch of young tuna weighing less than 30 kg to no more than half the annual average over the period from 2002 to 2004, and that of the larger fish weighing at least 30 kg to no more than the 2002-2004 average. Japan's catch quota is 4,007 tons for small Pacific bluefin tuna and 4,882 tons for the larger fish.