GOJ AGREES TO LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 TOKYO 003520

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR OES/OMC SARAH MCTEE
DEPT ALSO FOR OES/OA, EAP/J, WHA/MEX
NOAA NMFS FOR ALEXIS GUTIERREZ, IRENE KELLY
INTERIOR FOR USFWS EARL POSSARDT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/29/2018
TAGS: EFIS PHSA SENV KSCA JA MX
SUBJECT: GOJ AGREES TO LOGGERHEAD SEA TURTLE CONSERVATION
DIALOGUE

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Confidential. Classified By: Charge d'Affaires James Zumwalt
for Reasons 1.4 (b),(d).


1. (U) SUMMARY: Experts from the USG and GOJ agreed December
11 to continue their informal dialogue and to look at further
steps to protect North Pacific loggerhead sea turtles.
Representatives from the Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ),
Ministry of the Environment (MOE),National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS),and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS)
participated in this first bilateral government-to-government
exchange on protecting this species, considered globally
threatened under U.S. law. The loggerheads face threats from
nesting habitat degradation, improper ecotourism practices,
and bycatch in coastal and open sea fisheries. Greater GOJ
engagement is needed to ensure population sustainability and
recovery. END SUMMARY.

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BACKGROUND
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2. (U) The North Pacific loggerhead nests only in Japan, and
then migrates across the Pacific, traveling through
international and U.S. waters to the Baja peninsula, where
juveniles mature in coastal foraging waters, and returns to
East Asia as adults. Experts note that this trans-Pacific
lifecycle means the North Pacific loggerhead population will
neither stabilize nor recover without robust international
cooperation. The U.S. regulations have dramatically reduced
turtle mortality in U.S. commercial longline fisheries, and
cooperative action with Mexican authorities and local fishing
communities in Baja has improved juvenile survival rates.
Scientists argue greater attention is needed to reduce
interactions and mortality in Asian coastal fisheries and
Japanese nesting beaches. The Western Pacific Regional
Fishery Management Council (WPRFMC) and USFWS have
contributed to efforts by the Sea Turtle Association of Japan
(STAJ),a Japanese NGO, to improve nesting conditions and
increase hatchling survival.

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SYMPOSIUM IDENTIFIES 3 THREATS TO LOGGERHEADS
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3. (SBU) Representatives from NMFS and USFWS attended the
North Pacific Loggerhead Conservation Symposium at Kagoshima
University, visited nesting beaches and conservation field
sites, and engaged the Japanese government on protecting
loggerheads. The USG and GOJ attendees conveyed the
Kagoshima Symposium's conclusions to the December 11
government-to- government exchange in Tokyo. According to
the attendees, scientists at the Symposium agreed there are
three main areas of concern within Japanese territory: nest
productivity and hatchling survival, ecotourism practices,
and bycatch mortality.


4. (SBU) During their field visits, NMFS and USFWS
representatives saw sea walls and other beach armaments that
they noted have exacerbated beach erosion and reduced the
nesting habitat available for loggerhead sea turtles, causing
females to lay eggs in unsuitable locations, e.g., vulnerable
to land- and sea-based threats. The scientists at the
Symposium concluded STAJ's nest relocation and protection
activities to increase nest productivity and hatchling
survival should be expanded, but in the long run, as much
beach habitat as possible should be restored to a more
natural state, the USG reps told Econoff at a Dec. 10 U.S.
delegation meeting.


5. (SBU) At the Symposium and during site visits, local
residents told USG representatives their region relies on
fishing and ecotourism revenues, a statement reiterated by
MOE and FAJ officials during the Dec. 11 exchange. (Note:
Tourists participate in turtle walks and hatchling release
events on the nesting beaches. The STAJ, MOE, and USG
experts believe current ecotourism practices result in
depressed nest productivity and elevated hatchling mortality.
End note.) Greater oversight and regulation of the local

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ecotoursm industry, combined with education and outreach to
tourists and tour operators, could alleviate these problems,
NMFS and USFWS reps told Econoff. Japan's MOE is engaged in
outreach and education, Ministry officials revealed Dec. 11.
The U.S. side suggested expanding its scope to disseminate
accurate information may be feasible in the near term.


6. (C) Loggerheads are also threatened by the use of
mid-water closed-type pound nets in local fishing grounds.
However, as the local population ages, some fishing
communities are turning to labor-saving mid-water pound nets,
the USG reps learned at the Kagoshima Symposium. (Note:
Traditional pound nets have an open top, allowing
accidentally caught turtles to breathe. Mid-water pound nets
have a closed top, accidentally drowning turtles before they
can be identified and released. End note.) Currently, the
precise extent of the use of these nets is unknown, and STAJ
scientists believe they are more prevalent than FAJ officials
estimate. The NMFS scientists are working to develop an
escape device to retrofit onto these nets because the nets
are a major capital investment whose use cannot reasonably be
banned, NMFS reps reported. This development may be a
promising mid- to long-term mitigation possibility.


7. (SBU) In addition to promoting the conservation activities
detailed above, experts at the Symposium agreed on the need
for further research and increased GOJ engagement, the USG
and GOJ attendees said. Possible research areas identified
at the Symposium include 1) characterizing threats and
activities at each nesting location, 2) gathering further
hatchling success data, 3) understanding bycatch and
stranding, 4) investigating the prevalence of mid-water
closed-type pound nets, and 5) developing devices to allow
turtles to escape from these nets.

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GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT MEETING OUTCOMES
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8. (C) The U.S. delegation initiated the December 11
U.S.-Japan government-to-government meeting to encourage
greater GOJ engagement in loggerhead sea turtle conservation.
The FAJ officials questioned the extent of the North Pacific
loggerheads' decline and the prevalence of closed-type pound
nets in Japanese fisheries, but MOE officials agreed with the
NMFS and USFWS assessment. All parties agreed scientific
research and many types of on-shore conservation activities
are feasible in the short-run.


9. (SBU) The FAJ officials sought USG understanding and
patience, emphasizing that major changes, such as habitat
restoration, tourism regulation, and fishing practices,
involve numerous stakeholders and will take time. The U.S.
delegation emphasized the importance of identifying
conservation measures that minimize economic harm (e.g. from
fishing regulations),and noted that some conservation
activities can provide economic benefits to local
communities, for example from jobs in ecotourism and habitat
conservation.


10. (U) Participants agreed to continue informal
consultations through the Japanese Fisheries Attache in
Washington, to identify joint projects and an appropriate
format for regular government-to-government dialogue on North
Pacific loggerhead sea turtle conservation.

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COMMENT
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11. (C) The NMFS reps emphasized to Econoff that these talks
are entirely separate from the Magnuson-Stevens
Reauthorization Act of 2007, a law that allows the U.S. to
impose trade sanctions on seafood exports from countries
whose fishing industry practices fail to protect vulnerable
species. Nonetheless, Japan's loggerhead bycatch problem
could potentially make Japan vulnerable in the future. Since
the United States is among Japan's top export markets for

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seafood products, any such sanctions would be felt throughout
Japan's seafood industry.

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PARTICIPANTS
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12. (U) December 11 Government-to-Government Meeting
Participants

Japan
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MINISTRY OF THE ENVIRONMENT:

-- Ms. Fumiko Nakao, Senior Assistant Director, Wildlife
Division

-- Mr. Yoshiaki Kitahashi, Assistant Director, Wildlife
Division

-- Ms. Yuka Makino, Official, Wildlife Division

-- Mr. Keiji Nakashima, Assistant Director, Natural
Environment Strategy Division

-- Mr. Yasuaki Kishino, Subsection Chief, Natural Environment
Strategy Division

-- Mr. Takuya Ishikawa, Subsection Chief, Natural Environment
Strategy Division

-- Mr. Norihiko Futagami, Section Chief, National Park
Division

FISHERIES AGENCY:

-- Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Director, Ecosystem Conservation Office,
Resources and Environment Research Division

-- Mr. Hideki Moronuki, Assistant Director, Ecosystem
Conservation Office, Resources and Environment Research
Division

-- Mr. Shohei Okano, Official, Ecosystem Conservation Office,
Resources and Environment Research Division

-- Mr. Hitoshi Fujita, Assistant Director, Far Seas Fisheries
Division

NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF FAR SEAS FISHERIES:

-- Mr. Masashi Kiyota, Chief Researcher, Fisheries Research
Agency

-- Mr. Hiroshi Minami, Senior Researcher, Fisheries Research
Agency

MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS:

-- Ms. Kiyomi Hyoe, Official, Fisheries Division


United States
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NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE:

-- Ms. Alexis Gutierrez, Foreign Affairs Specialist, Turtle
Team, Office of Protected Resources

-- Ms. Irene Kelly, Sea Turtle Recovery Coordinator,
Protected Resources Division, Pacific Islands Regional Office

U.S. FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE:

-- Mr. Earl Possardt, Marine Turtle Program Officer, Division
of International Conservation

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EMBASSY TOKYO:

-- Ms. Heather Dresser, ESTH Officer



13. (U) The U.S. delegation cleared the substance of this
message after returning to Washington.

ZUMWALT