insights from frontier Japan

In the Minamikayabe district of Hakodate, thinning work is in full swing for ma-kombu kelp force-cultivated to grow in one year. The sight of fishermen leaning out over the top of their boats and thinning out the kelp by hand is a seasonal tradition heralding the arrival of spring in this major production area of deluxe-class kelp.

Fixed-net cherry-salmon fishing is in full swing off the coast of Esashi in the Hiyama region of southern Hokkaido. On April 7, five fishing boats set out early in the morning, returning to land a steady stream of live cherry salmon at Esashi Port.

The spring clam-fishing season in Notsuke Bay in the town of Betsukai in the Nemuro region of eastern Hokkaido began on March 30, and 1.2 tons of large, black clams were landed during the first catch. The clam fishing began in the ‘development zone’ of the artificial tidal flats. From April 2, the fishermen also operated in the natural fishing grounds.

Fishermen from the Nemuro Bay Chubu Fisheries Cooperative in East Hokkaido are diving for sea urchins off the coast of Nemuro. Wetsuit-clad fishermen dive into the sea, in which drift ice floats, to catch Ezo-bafun sea urchins.

In the sea off the coast of Esashi in the Okhotsk region, where the drift ice has already left, the Esashi Fisheries Cooperative has begun work on developing the scallop fishing grounds. They are hoping for a good catch of high-quality Esashi Scallops and are eradicating their natural enemy, starfish.

Harvesting iwanori "rock seaweed" along the Sea of Japan coast is a seasonal tradition in the coldest part of winter. This year's harvest season recently started for the Shiribeshi region's town of Shakotan, where harvesters carefully hand-pick the seaweed along the water's edge.

Lake Abashiri stretches through both the city of Abashiri and the town of Ozora in the Eastern Hokkaido Okhotsk region. The season has started here for wakasagi smelt ice trawl net fishing, a form of fishing not generally found in other parts of Japan.

Salmon fisherman Maruko Mizuki from the Utoro area of Shari in Eastern Hokkaido is growing in popularity on social media. He has approximately 20,000 followers on the video posting app "TikTok", where he uploads videos introducing the appeal of the fishing industry and fish. He has become so popular, he opened his own seafood processing shop. He has also appeared as a fashion magazine model, and expresses a strong desire, "To show the young generation the fun of the fishing industry and the deliciousness of Shiretoko fish."

Oysters cultivated in the town of Shiriuchi, one of the leading oyster-producing areas in southern Hokkaido, are being landed. The oysters, which are two years old, were cultivated on ropes that had been submerged in the sea since last summer. This year’s oysters are said to be “plump and juicy,” and the ports are lively during this extremely cold season.