insights from frontier Japan

Scallop fishing began on November 24 at ‘new fishing grounds’ created in Nemuro Bay in eastern Hokkaido, in response to the 2016 ban on the drift-net fishing of salmon and trout within 200 nautical miles of Russia. Three vessels belonging to the Nemuro and Habomai fisheries cooperatives initially landed a total of 13.5 tons.

At Eastern Hokkaido's Lake Saroma, the harvest season for the short-spined sea urchin is in full swing. Harvesting is being conducted robustly, using a method of collecting sea urchins from the lake floor by pulling nets fitted with iron claws. Lake Saroma sea urchin harvesting is being conducted by the three fishery cooperatives of Yubetsu, Tokoro, and Saroma. This year, it started on April 12.

　The fresh fish department in the basement of the Fujimaru department store in the city of Obihiro reopened after refurbishment on April 1, with a sales counter directly managed by the Obihiro Regional Wholesale Market opening there. The procurement power of the market has been put to good use, with a wide selection of fresh fish from Hokkaido and beyond, and a commemorative bluefin tuna filleting display held at the opening.

The herring fishing season is reaching its peak in the Okhotsk region. Known in Japan as the “spring fish,” herrings herald the arrival of spring in the sea from which the drift ice has disappeared.

Basket fishing for horsehair crab – which heralds the coming of spring on the Okhotsk Sea coast – has begun, with approximately 3.9 tons of horsehair crab landed at the Oumu Fishing Port in the town of Oumu in the Okhotsk region on March 17.

Wintertime in Eastern Hokkaido is packed with amazing scenery and experiences not available elsewhere in Japan, like drift ice, art made from snow and ice, and the ice horizon expanse. The "East Hokkaido Express Bus" is a seasonal bus that travels to all sorts of tourist spots in wintertime Eastern Hokkaido. It gives you easy access to famous spots difficult to reach by car. Visit Eastern Hokkaido aboard buses in search of amazing experiences only available there!

On January 24, seasonally fresh iwanori seaweed harvesting started on Kamome Island in southern Hokkaido's Esashi Town. Fifteen fishermen worked at removing seaweed stuck to rocks.

Esashi Fishery Cooperative Union in the northern Hokkaido fishing town of Esashi has launched their first website introducing the fishing industries centered on scallops, aki-sake salmon, and horsehair crab and efforts to protect the bountiful natural environment. It is offered in English and Chinese as well.

In an effort to shine a public relations spotlight on the highest quality in kelp-fed farm-raised sea urchin of the Strongylocentrotus intermedius species, a Council made up of members including the town government of eastern Hokkaido's Hamanaka Town has unified sea urchin products under the brand name "Hamanaka Yoshoku Uni" (Hamanaka Farm Sea Urchin). The Council started shipping product nationwide under this brand name in November.

The fishery scene on the Hokkaido coast is seeing changes, possibly due to climate change. Catches of Pacific saury and Pacific flying squid, long caught in the waters around Hokkaido, have dwindled. Fishermen are finding more species usually captured in warmer waters, such as dolphinfish, in their fishing nets. Fishermen and seafood processors are being forced to adopt to the change that experts believe the rise in sea temperature in recent years may be behind.