FISHERIES RESEARCH INSTITUTE,MOA,TAIWAN

Paying special attention to the sustainable use of Pacific skipjack resources, Ajinomoto of Japan has sponsored the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, a Japanese fishery research and education institution, to promote the sustainable development plan of skipjack fishery in collaboration with industry, government, and academia and has established a cooperative relationship with the Fisheries Research Institute, the Council of Agriculture to jointly conduct a trial of skipjack tagging in the eastern waters of Taiwan. The goal is to integrate the analysis results of the migration characteristics of the skipjack population in Taiwan and Japan, so as to effectively grasp the dynamics of this population in the Northwest Pacific and to promote the sustainable use of resources.  

Ajinomoto has been producing skipjack seasoning food since 1970, which is marketed as a “Hon-dashi” product with a skipjack flavor and is an internationally renowned popular product of the company. Adhering to the corporate spirit of “Eat Well, Live Well”, Ajinomoto has sponsored the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries, a Japanese fishery research and education institution since 2009, to jointly support the sustainable development plan of skipjack fishery among industry, government, and academia by carrying out a large-scale skipjack tagging test in Japan’s economic waters and the adjacent high seas so as to gradually analyze the structure and movement characteristics of the skipjack population in the Kuroshio Current. In 2014, the project began to extend the research scope to the waters of Yonaguni Island, and a cooperative relationship with the Fisheries Research Institute was established in 2017.  

Skipjack is widely distributed in the tropical and subtropical waters of the three largest oceans in the world between the south and north latitudes of 40 degrees. It belongs to the group of mid-surface migratory fish and gathers in the surface waters where upwelling currents meet cold and warm water. The movement and distribution of skipjack change due to the impact of ocean currents and the marine environment regardless of season or year.

Researchers from the National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries of Japan and the Fisheries Research Institute conducted 18 voyages of skipjack tagging tests in the eastern waters of Taiwan from December 2017 to March 2020 and released a total of 724 skipjack, including 211 equipped with an electronic tag. So far, 20 fish have been caught again (for a recapture rate of 3%). At present, 5 electronic tags have been recovered. The recapture areas are all in the waters near the marked wild release site. The tags are deployed on the fish body for 11 to 31 days, with a total of 104 days of skipjack movement behavior information being recorded for the first time in the sea area of Taiwan and Japan. The recapture area of traditional tags has spread to the seas of Kyushu Island and Shikoku, Japan. Preliminary results show that the skipjack in the sea area of Taiwan and Japan belongs to the same group structure and is closely related to the Kuroshio Current in the Northwest Pacific.  

Ajinomoto of Japan has continued to provide the Fisheries Research Institute and Japan’s National Research Institute of Far Seas Fisheries with electronic tags for the dynamic analysis of cross-border skipjack populations, demonstrating its emphasis on the sustainable use of skipjack fishery resources. It is hoped that fishermen in both countries can actively assist in the recovery of tagged fish samples so that we can obtain a more complete record and provide important scientific parameters for the establishment of a skipjack resource assessment model to ensure the sustainability of Pacific skipjack fishery resources.  

Figure 1. Taiwan-Japan International Friendship Cooperation in the Fishery Science-Skipjack “Sustainable Fishing” Project.

Figure 2. A skipjack recaptured after tagging, the electronic tag (red arrow), and the traditional number sign (yellow arrow).

Figure 3. Locations of skipjack tagging and recapture (green triangle is tagging location; red star isrecapture location).

Eastern Marine Biology Research Center, Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan