The purpose of this paper is to examine the disadvantage condition of the isolatedisland fisheries, and to consider the problem of the fisheries policy for these fisheries. Fisheries are main industry on isolated-islands. But the isolated-island fisheries are inferior to the mainland fisheries in the fundamental condition of the distribution of fisheries products, capital in the fishing village, and labor, and the subsidiary condition of living environment and the local finance. In particular, the distribution of fisheries products is a serious disadvantage to the fishing household in isolated-islands. Therefore, the shipping costs of them are higher than those in mainland. As the result, the isolated-island fisheries are constituted small-scale fishing household, and the decline of the fishery workers and their aging on isolated-islands are faster than on the mainland.

The fisheries policy for the isolated-island fisheries (called “The support grant of reformation for the isolated-island fisheries”) was established since 2005. The main aim of this policy is to support the activity for improving the production in fishing grounds so that the multifunctionality of the isolated-island fisheries were maintained and increased by reformation for the isolated-island fisheries. In order to function as the fisheries policy for less favored areas, this policy should be resolved the disadvantage conditions of the isolated-island fisheries. Especially, the economical assistance for the shipping costs of them is necessary.

This paper aims to clarify the effects of support for the utilization of fishing resources and places for fishery management and the problems created by such support using the case of Yoron Island in Kagoshima Prefecture and Goto Islands of Nagasaki Prefecture.

Yoron Island has increased its catch value greatly by installing Payao (a fish-attracting device) to catch migratory fish in the surrounding sea, and it earned a certain level of profit by shipping them to places outside the island. Meanwhile, however, the island suffers from decreasing advantage of the catch value outside the island. That is, Yoron Island has benefited from the catch value created in the surrounding sea, thanks to the installation of Payao for higher production, but it faces the problem of decrease in catch value when fisheries land fish on Yoron Island.

While the investment of capital in tuna farming and the official support for production activities have had positive economic effects on Goto Islands as a production place that includes district, fishing cooperative, and fishing family, Goto Islands are not as competitive due to the system change and technological progress, and they need a stable and good profit margin to make the fish farming business viable in isolated islands.

As described above, as long as shipment conditions have restrictions, production activities in an isolated island suffer from disadvantage despite measures to promote production. Therefore, combined support that includes improving the technology to keep catches fresh, devising an approach to increase added value, and extending a certain degree of support for the transportation cost is necessary to keep fishery in isolated islands viable.

This study aims to understand the current conditions and challenges facing isolated islands in the area of human resources as a foundation of existence in their fishery industry. Yamaguchi Prefecture ranks sixth in Japan in the number of inhabited remote islands, and we targeted our study to those islands with relatively high numbers of young people in order to reveal their requirements for entry into and settling on the islands. We especially, focused on current trends among young people in career choice intentions, and drew conclusions regarding their conditions for choosing to work on the islands.

The results revealed that the employment structure in remote islands with many young people is mainly made up of returnees to the islands. This structure reflects influences that easily cause concern for society as a whole, such as an unstable job market due to the sluggish Japanese economy, new employment measures in Yamaguchi Prefecture which focus on previous residents of the islands, obtaining a capable workforce, and the development of human relations. Returnees have high demands in choosing a career, requiring a certain amount of money to support their life comfortably, as well as opportunities for personal development. Traditionally, it has been difficult to develop a new industry other than fishing in remote islands, and limitations in local resources have made life on the islands less than convenient; however, aquatic resources, management resources, and life resources are now beginning to result in job openings as population declines, generating opportunities for young people to satisfy their needs. For these reasons, attempts have been made to implement independent operations to increase the income and personal development of the younger generation, by properly distributing unused resources. The study reveals examples of the actual conditions and how local resources are distributed to encourage entry and settlement by young people.

This paper analyzes forms of fishery that facilitate conservation in unfavorable fishing places and presents subsequent policy problems that arise. The purpose of this paper is to focus on fishery in isolated islands, which is considered fishery in unfavorable fishing places, and to consider dividing fishery in isolated islands and examining the type of production needed in each division in order to devise measures to overcome the disadvantage. Specifically, this paper analyzes three issues: (1) the evaluation axis of fishery, (2) the positioning of regional promotion measures and fishery promotion measures, and (3) proper selection and concentration.

In this paper, fishery in isolated islands is divided into four phases, with the highest priority being the discussion of the method that enables the region rich in resources to supply foods to people despite the low degree of settlement. This paper argues that the deteriorated liquidity of today‘s fishery is largely because of modernization of production and the expansion of official support, neither of which is based on stable infrastructure. It also proposes that areas rich in resources should “liberalize production” to fisheries of other areas despite the low degree of settlement; moreover, whether or not there is production depends on official support.

Finally, this paper defines the policy supporting the above series of actions and its development as the “proper selection and concentration” policy. In order to supply foods to people stably amid the decreasing reserve of finances, prioritizing policy targets is inevitable taking into consideration the production factors clarified by the two axes of settlement and the amount of resources.