Comparison of production trends in Japan with long history in aquaculture and challenging success of Türkiye as a fairly new country in fish farming

Turkish versus Japanese aquaculture

Abstract

The struggle efforts and success of the Turkish aquaculture industry from past to present have been investigated with comparative evaluation of aquaculture trends in Japan, a country with significant infrastructure in fish farming. Despite its long history of fish farming, Japanese aquaculture production has stabilized over the last two decades, while Turkish aquaculture is in a rapid growth period, ranking among top producers in the world. The lower correlation between production and annual increase of population growth recorded for Japan (R= 0.795207) compared to the higher correlation for Türkiye (R= 0.930835), based on statistical data over the past 40 years, showed that population growth has influence on fish farming yields. The increasing number of younger adults in Türkiye provide advantageous conditions for the selection of qualified personnel from a wider range with higher opportunities in the employment of staff for the Turkish aquaculture sector. In Japan however, along with a variety of reasons, the industrialization has potentially shifted the interests towards technology-based businesses rather than marine works. Introducing high-tech aquaculture systems might reattract young generations, that may help restructuring Japanese aquaculture business. Hence, this study provides useful indications for decision makers in the management of securing the future of the aquaculture industry by reducing the so-called generation gap in aquaculture recruitments.