Off the coast of Omi Island in Nagato City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, the harvest of rock oysters, a specialty product that will soon be in season, has begun.
For the past 13 years, fishermen from Omi Island have been raising rock oysters about 500 meters off the coast of Nagato City in an effort to create a new local specialty.
Harvesting of rock oysters, which is about to enter the season, began this week, and fishermen hauled ropes attached to the rock oysters that were submerged in the sea.
Then, after peeling off the stuck shells with seaweed and barnacles by hand, the shells were polished with a roller to improve the appearance.
The rock oysters are fed with plankton from the Sea of Japan and are raised for more than three years, so their shells are more than 15 centimeters in diameter.
Harvested rock oysters are sold online, and can be steamed and eaten at a food stall at the local roadside station Senza Kitchen.
Isamu Shintani, Representative Director of the Omijima Rock Oysters Sales Association, said, "From now on, the oysters will grow and become delicious. I would like you to taste the oysters grown in the clean sea of Omijima."