The western Kushiro region coast (spanning Shiranuka Town, Kushiro City, and Kushiro Town) boasts the one of the largest shishamo fish hauls in Hokkaido, and Shiranuka Fishery Cooperative associated fishers were first in the area to launch this season’s shishamo fishing on October 18. The first day haul brought in 2.6 tons, which was 1.4 tons less than last year. The red tide phenomenon has been confirmed along the Eastern Hokkaido offing from late September to the present. And while this did not affect the first day haul, the season start did leave behind a sense of doubt regarding subsequent fishing.

At 4:30 a.m., 26 Shiranuka Fishery Cooperative affiliated fishing ships departed from the Shiranuka Fishing Port. At around 2:00 p.m., ships began returning to the port. The crew and their families selected and shipped the shishamo, chika smelt, and other fish in the catch.

The captain of Chishima Maru No. 2 (9.7 tons) commented, “The catch today was still not enough. I am hoping we get bigger volumes in the future.” The port price was 2,790 yen per 1 kilogram.

According to the “Kushiro Shishamo Dredge Net Fishing Operating Committee”, because a resource decrease is anticipated, the Committee set the fishing limit for this year at 200 tons, which is 100 tons lower than last year. Fishing is also slated to start on October 28 for the three cooperatives of Kushiro City, Eastern Kushiro City, and Kombumori as well. The season will last until the end of November.