Last month, a team from Waterdance and Western Fish Producers’ Organisation (WFPO) visited Japan to learn more about the Japanese fishery management and trading opportunities with a focus on cuttlefish, octopus and squid. 

The group included Waterdance Commercial Director, Martyn Youell, and Barentszee of Ladram skipper, Shaun Gibbs, alongside Chloe Sharkey and Harry Owen from WFPO, the cooperative who represent the Waterdance fleet. During the trip, they were also joined by representatives from More Seafood, CEFAS, Coombe fisheries and Cornwall IFCA. 

Throughout the visit, the group attended multiple fish markets including Toyosu Market in Tokyo, the biggest fish market in the world, in addition to smaller fish markets in coastal towns such as Katsuura and Yawatahama. These visits provided valuable insight to understand the Japanese market from products to packaging and certification standards. 

Alongside the markets, the team visited processing factories to learn how they utilise all parts of the fish, with the aim to consider how there could be a market for parts which are usually disposed of in current British fishing processes. 

During their time in Tokyo, the team attended the Japan International Seafood & Technology Expo, held in Tokyo between the 19th – 21st August. Here, the team were based at the UK pavilion, hosted by Seafish, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and Seafood Scotland, providing the opportunity to share the provenance story behind our seafood, learn about what matters to buyers in the Japanese market and make valuable connections.  

A highlight of the trip for the team was a reception held at the British Ambassador’s residence in Tokyo, bringing together representatives of British seafood and Japanese buyers to forge trading ties and showcase British species in new ways. It was a great opportunity for the team to see British seafood in a high-end setting, highlighting the commonalities in culture of our shared love for seafood. 

The trip also provided an opportunity to learn from other fishing cooperatives about their bottom-up approach to fisheries management, co-management set-up and current projects and initiatives. One of the cooperatives that the team met with specialised in Cuttlefish traps and demonstrated their addition of foliage as a form of habitat enhancement to provide a structure for the cuttlefish to lay their eggs on. 

The trip was a huge success for all involved and provided valuable insights and networking connections for the Waterdance and WFPO team.