Present status and market structure of the bluefin tuna farming industry in Japan: From the viewpoint of large companies' business behavior and their market share
2014
Yamamoto, N. (Nagasaki University (Japan)) | Kitano, S.
Japanese large companies have been accelerating their entry into domestic tuna farming industry since the late 2000s, a rush triggered by cutbacks to the capture quota for Atlantic bluefin tuna, which coincided with a reduced domestic bluefin tuna supply. The gross amount of Japan's farming tuna production has increased remarkably since then. This rapid business growth has led to concerns about resource over-exploitation, as the tuna juveniles used in farming depend heavily on wild resources. This paper describes the present status and features of the domestic tuna farming industry by analyzing the business behavior of large companies. It also discusses the future prospects for reorganization in the industry. The paper presents several findings. First, most large tuna farming companies do not possess fishing rights. Many take advantage of the fishing rights enjoyed by fishery cooperatives. We also observed cases in which large companies have taken over existing companies or are collaborating with farming fishermen. In addition, we find that the domestic tuna farming market is an oligopoly, with two companies accounting for 40% of the industry. Because of these circumstances, regulatory resource control is accelerating the competition for juveniles, and large companies with capital strength began to enclosure juvenile fishermen. This competition will motivate large companies to integrate smaller farmers in both vertical and horizontal directions. We conclude that the business sequences and alliances fostered by large companies are leading to progress in the domestic tuna farming industry.
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