Chris Loew

Chris Loew

Contributing Editor reporting from Osaka, Japan

Chris Loew reports from Osaka, Japan as a contributing editor for SeafoodSource.com. In addition to writing for SeafoodSource.com, he covers Japan for stock-investing newsletter Global Investing. He co-authored a college language text, “Healthcare English:  Read, Write and Speak It.” When not writing, he proofreads Japanese-to-English translations. Chris is a 1990 graduate of The Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington. After graduation, he worked for two years in the purchasing department of a Japanese meat importer, and for five years as export director for two Seattle food companies, selling to customers in the Far East, and arranging shipping and export documentation for mixed containers of frozen foods.

Published on
August 10, 2022

A Japanese company has created an unmanned, autonomous aerial drone that it envisages could be used to monitor infrastructure, search for missing swimmers or vessels, and to spot schools of fish.

The company, Space Entertainment Laboratory, along with Itochu Aviation, ran a demonstration experiment – with the cooperation of Nagai Town Fisheries Cooperative and Yokosuka City – of the new plane in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, to try and

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Published on
August 8, 2022

The 100th meeting of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) ended on 5 August with agreements on transshipment and compliance, and a commitment to adopt a harvest strategy for north Pacific albacore at next year’s meeting.

IATTC members followed the lead of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) and the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) by adopting stronger oversight for

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Published on
August 8, 2022

Japan’s agricultural, forestry, and fishery exports hit a new high in the first half of 2022, benefiting from a weaker yen and the relaxing of COVID-19 measures in the U.S.A. and Europe.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) announced on 5 August the country's agricultural exports were up 7.9 percent year-on-year, and that its marine product exports rose 31.5 percent to reach JPY 180.2 billion (USD 1.33

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Published on
August 4, 2022

The Pew Charitable Trusts is urging regional fishery management organizations (RFMOs) to adopt a harvest strategy and harvest control rule for North Pacific albacore to prevent the possibility of future overfishing.

North Pacific albacore is the fish that sparked the explosive growth of the cannery industry in the U.S. state of California in the early 20th century, and made canned tuna a mainstay product in U.S. grocery stores. The fishery is

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Published on
August 3, 2022

Fukuoka, Japan-based Yamaya Communications, a producer of mentaiko, has advanced from its humble origins to become the largest producer of the product in Japan.

Mentaiko is pollock roe marinated in chili, sake, kelp, and citrus for several hours. Originally a Korean dish, mentaiko was introduced to Japan in the 1950s and became a delicacy in Fukuoka, a city on the island of Kyushu. Today, all of Japan's major producers of the product are

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Published on
August 2, 2022

The Japan Fisheries Agency is forecasting a poor catch for the upcoming Pacific saury season, though it is expected to exceed that of 2021.

The 2022 Pacific saury season will run from August through December in east Hokkaido and Northeast Honshu Island. The forecast, compiled by the National Institute of Fisheries Resources, of the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, reported fish will likely be on the small side this

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Published on
August 1, 2022

As Japan’s average seafood consumption continues to wane, the country is continuing to engage in efforts to increase awareness of local fish.  

The country’s per capita seafood consumption peaked in 2001, and has been steadily declining as younger Japanese people gravitate toward meat and more Western-style cuisine. As a result, younger people are becoming less familiar with local fish options. Compounding the issue, the

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Published on
July 27, 2022

Japanese eels have been discovered inhabiting several rivers in Hokkaido, the most northern prefecture in the country and an area previously thought to be beyond the species’ range.

The Tohoku region, consisting of northeastern Honshu Island, was formerly thought to be the northern limit of the Japanese eel’s range. Scientists are speculating that a change in currents or warmer water temperatures caused by climate change have allowed

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Published on
July 22, 2022

Kyoto, Japan-based Regional Fish Institute is now selling gene-edited pufferfish to the public – one of the first times a gene-edited seafood product was offered over-the-counter to Japanese consumers.

The company’s online store has been offering the product since it gained government approval in 2021. The sale of gene-edited fish is part of a wider trend in Japan toward the new technology.

Unlike the European Union, Japan

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Published on
July 21, 2022

A scientific report by Morocco’s National Institute for Fisheries Research (INRH, per its French acronym) indicates the nation's cephalopod catch is down by 60 percent, most significantly in the southern part of the country, according to Morocco-based news site Le Reporter.

According Le Reporter, word in the industry is that the current decline is due to poaching by an “octopus mafia.” There has been lax enforcement of the

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