In Kushimoto Town, Wakayama Prefecture, where bonito fishing is popular, fishermen are in a difficult situation as fishing in the nearby seas is sluggish and it is difficult to go to distant fishing grounds due to soaring fuel prices.
At Kushimoto Fishing Port in Kushimoto Town, from this month to May, "Kenken fishing", where you catch bonito in the nearby sea while running a boat with artificial bait on fishing line, will reach its peak.
However, due to the Kuroshio Current moving southward from the usual year, fishing in the near sea has been sluggish, and this month's catch was 6 tons, down to 4% of the same period last year.
Furthermore, the price of light oil for ship fuel was 107 yen per liter as of the 30th, which is 10 yen higher than half a year ago and remains high.
If you go more than 30 kilometers east of the conventional fishing grounds, you may be able to catch bonito, but due to the soaring fuel prices, more and more people are giving up fishing.
A 74-year-old fisherman said, "In addition to not being able to catch bonito, the crude oil is expensive and painful."
Kazuya Okamoto, market manager of the Wakayama East Fisheries Cooperative, said, "Because the fuel is high, it is difficult for fishermen to leave the boat unless there is information that the bonito has been removed. I want them to return to their original state as soon as possible." I did.