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 29, 2023

The 2023 fall saury fishing season in Japan has officially begun, with the initial catch sold at record high prices, but experts believe that landings throughout the season are likely to mirror last year’s abysmal catch totals.

Before the season began, the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA) released its “2023 saury long-term fishing forecast” on 28 July. It projected the volume of saury expected to migrate

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Published on
August 24, 2023

Komaki, Japan-based Fujidenolo Co. is previewing a new device that accurately detects the freshness of fish at the 25th Japan International Seafood and Technology Expo, running from 23 to 25 August at the Tokyo Big Sight convention center.

The device that Fujidenolo – a manufacturer of medical, aerospace, healthcare, and more products – is developing measures the freshness index of fish flesh, or K-value of a fish, by detecting the

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Published on
August 23, 2023

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (TEPCO), the operator of the earthquake-damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, has announced it plans to move ahead with a controversial release of  contaminated water on Thursday, 24 August. 

A fight over the release of the water has stretched over years, with some countries, including China and Russia, promising import restrictions on fish from Japan if the release is conducted.

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Published on
August 16, 2023

Multiple NGOs pushing the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) for a full harvest strategy for North Pacific albacore tuna got their wish at the latest meeting of the regional fisheries management organization (RFMO).

The annual meeting of the  IATTC took place from 7 to 11 August in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, and several marine sustainability nonprofit organizations continued their calls for the RFMO to adopt a full

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Published on
August 16, 2023

Tokyo, Japan-headquartered Mitsui & Co. recently attained large stakes in two aquaculture companies: FRD Japan, a land-based recirculating aquaculture system (RAS) rainbow trout farming company, and Ecuador-based Industrial Pesquera Santa Priscila, the world’s largest shrimp-farming company.

On 20 July, Mitsui announced that it subscribed to purchase additional shares in FRD Japan amounting to JPY 7.85 billion (USD 54.3 million, EUR

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Published on
August 15, 2023

Government reports coming out of Japan highlight trends of falling wild-caught and farm fishery production, with some numbers hitting record lows throughout the country.

Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries (MAFF) released its Fisheries White Paper earlier this summer and the report – which covers trends in production, import-export changes, and consumer behavior – covers the fiscal year ending March 2022.

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Published on
August 11, 2023

Kristiansund, Norway-based C Robotics is working to transform shellfish harvesting and aquaculture operations through a line of underwater remote operated vehicles (ROVs).

The company, formed in 2017 by a group of professionals who have extensive experience in the subsea oil and gas, maritime, and fishing industries, has dubbed its most recent ROV the BabyBud. The underwater ROV is intended to clean fish cages after harvesting, among other

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Published on
August 10, 2023

Tokyo, Japan-based Nissui, Japan’s second-largest seafood company by revenue, is well on its way to achieving its revenue targets for its aquaculture operations it set for fiscal year (FY) 2024.

Nissui's sales of aquaculture products increased from JPY 59.9 billion (USD 425.5 million, EUR 383.2 million) to JPY 69.1 billion (USD 485 million, EUR 441 million) in FY 2022, a 15.3 percent increase year over year and 92 percent of its 2024 sales

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Published on
August 3, 2023

The United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) Resumed Review Conference, held at U.N. headquarters in New York City, U.S.A., elicited disappointingly few actionable recommendations that the seafood industry could use to further improve, according to several attendees.

UNFSA is a multilateral treaty aiming to promote effective, cooperative management of highly migratory fish stocks – mainly tuna, sharks, marlin, and swordfish. The treaty

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Published on
July 31, 2023

Japan has received the green light to release treated cooling water from the controversial Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the Pacific Ocean, prompting some of Japan’s neighbors to increase seafood testing requirements or expand the number of Japanese prefectures covered by import bans over fears of radiation contamination.

A positive review from the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency, which the plant received on

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