The stock has been declining since 2010 and is now far below the sustainable level. The saury is a keystone species in the ecosystem. Therefore, overfishing of this species might adversely affect the ecosystem.
This harvest method is operated from the surface in the upper water column by hand or mechanically. Endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species can be released unharmed. The discard rate of this fishery is low because all the fish is normally sold. This harvest method does not have any impacts on the benthic habitats. Significant ecosystem changes caused by this fishery are unlikely.
The stock is managed by Japan’s Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission. The regulatory framework covers issues such as restricting the mesh size of fishing nets, placing legal instruments to combat illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, requesting use of the Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) in order to ensure monitoring and management measures. Overall, management is partly effective.