Sunfish in Hokkaido!
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Fisheries changed by "ocean heat wave" November 27, 13:33
Hokkaido's representative seafood such as salmon, saury, and squid continue to have record poor catches.
Not only that, many fish such as sunfish and yellowtail that prefer warm seas have been caught in the net in recent years.
It has become clear that there is a peculiar phenomenon called "ocean heat wave" that contributes to such changes in the sea.
In the rapidly changing sea, fishermen are looking for survival.
(Kushiro Bureau Reporter, Yusuke Tamura, Hakodate Bureau Reporter, Masato Nishida)
Sunfish off the coast of Kushiro!
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September.
I was on a salmon set net fishing boat off Kushiro, Hokkaido.
This is because I heard that the sunfish are often caught in the net at the 7th Kyoshinmaru, which belongs to the Konbumori Fisheries Cooperative, which was taken care of by the interview.
Fishermen leaving the harbor at 3:00 am and pulling nets.
What emerged from the dark sea was a giant sunfish, 2 meters long.
Not just one, but many were on the net.
There is no demand in Kushiro, so there is no choice but to carefully remove it from the net and let it escape to the sea.
The sunfish, which was only an obstacle to fishing, said with a bitter smile, "If it was a small one, it might have been enough to sink a small boat."
On the other hand, the landing of the main salmon has decreased to about 10% of the peak, and the situation remains extremely difficult for fishermen.
Ocean heat waves
In Hokkaido, not only salmon but also saury and squid continue to have record poor catches.
As I continued to interview experts inside and outside Hokkaido, I heard that "the" ocean heat wave "is attracting attention" as to what is the common cause of poor fishing.
Ocean heat waves are a phenomenon in which the seawater temperature remains extremely high compared to normal for more than 5 days.
It occurs in the seas around the world and has been attracting attention among experts in recent years.
It has been pointed out that, unlike the gradual rise in seawater temperature, the continued extreme high water temperature will have an impact on the ecosystem.
When I investigated, when the sunfish was caught in the net, ocean heat waves were generated off Kushiro for 20 consecutive days.
What is happening in the sea of Hokkaido?
The clear answer was Professor Emeritus Yasunori Sakurai of Hokkaido University.
For 50 years, I have been studying trends in marine resources and ecosystems, mainly in the sea of Hokkaido.
Professor Emeritus Sakurai said that the frequent occurrence of ocean heat waves makes it difficult for salmon and saury to approach, making it easier for sunfish and yellowtail to migrate.
Professor Emeritus Sakurai
"A rise in water temperature of 3 to 4 degrees in the sea is equivalent to a change of 15 to 20 degrees in the atmosphere. If a hot spot where the sea water temperature rises sharply is created, From there, the fish will change drastically. "
Distress of fishermen
It is pointed out that ocean heat waves occurring all over the world are contributing to the remarkable poor fishing in Hokkaido.
Moreover, the frequency of occurrence will continue to increase.
How do you deal with the incident where you can't catch fish so far and you can catch unfamiliar fish?
We visited "Kaneyoshi", a fishery processing company that processes saury in Nemuro City, which is the number one landing of saury in Japan.
The company has been focusing on saury retort products for about three years due to the prolonged poor catch of saury.
President Takao Hamaya has also made drastic capital investments, such as building a new factory at a cost of hundreds of millions of yen.
However, the landing of this year is at the lowest level ever, and the amount of saury purchased has also dropped sharply.
Although he wants to handle new fish, he says that it is not easy to switch to new fish that may or may not sell because new capital investment is a heavy burden.
President Hamaya
"In the fishery processing industry, it is difficult to respond to changes because the continuity of the past is the highest priority. Of course, even if it is a fish species conversion, capital investment is also required. It's quite tough because there are also
From catching fish to "selling fish"
On the other hand, there is also a movement to change the newly caught fish into "sellable fish".
In Rausu Town, Shiretoko Peninsula, the landing of yellowtail has been increasing rapidly for about three years, so we are looking for ways to sell it as a Rausu brand.
It is said that the amount of yellowtail landed on the boat of Mr. Yoshihiro Kasai, who fishes set nets for salmon, exceeded that of unfished salmon last year.
At the end of October, when I got on board, less than 100 salmon were landed that day.
Instead, there were more than 1000 fat yellowtails.
It seems that such days are not uncommon.
Generally, the unit price of yellowtail in Hokkaido is about half that of salmon, which is cheap.
For this reason, Kasai and his colleagues kept the freshness of yellowtail, which weighs more than 10 tons on a single ship, by quickly draining the blood one by one.
Rausu yellowtail is large in size and greasy, so if it can be sold as a brand comparable to Hokuriku's "Kanburi", it will lead to survival.
Mr. Kasai
"It
's an
important job to add value as much as possible and sell it as high as 1 yen to protect everyone's life."
In Hakodate City, where the landing of yellowtail is also increasing, efforts to aim for new sales channels have also begun.
The target is Hokkaido, a hometown where the food culture of eating yellowtail has not taken root.
At the "Brifest" held in October, a menu of fried yellowtail fillets was developed and served to the citizens.
It has been well received by people who actually ate it at the event, and there are expectations for the expansion of local consumption, such as the opening of stores that continue to offer it.
Organizing Brifes Shingo Kokubun
"The overwhelming majority of people say that they don't know how to eat, so I think it's best to start from that point."
The survival of the fishery
The fishery in Hokkaido has supported our dining table by repeating abundant and poor fishing.
However, it has been pointed out that the frequent occurrence of ocean heat waves will further change the sea, and the experience so far will not be valid.
There is no guarantee that the fish such as yellowtail that are currently being caught will continue to be caught in the future, and fishermen are faced with difficult challenges.
Professor Emeritus Sakurai of Hokkaido University also says, "We have to draw a scenario and adapt it according to the difficult ocean heat wave situation."
Through interviews, I have realized that the effects of ocean heat waves are not just a problem for fishermen in Hokkaido, but are becoming apparent in various places.
First of all, it is necessary for the region to work together to support the survival of the fishery.
Kushiro Bureau Reporter
Yusuke Tamura
Joined in 2015
After working at Shizuoka Bureau and Numazu Branch, he
was in charge of
incumbent
economy and fisheries.
Hakodate Bureau Reporter
Masato Nishida
Joined in 2017
After working at the Nagasaki Bureau, he
was in charge of
incumbent
administration and agriculture, forestry and fisheries.