I can't catch fish!

What to do Sanriku February 26, 19:28

A fish market with new fishing boats and the latest equipment.

Ten years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, Sanriku's fishing industry, which was devastated by the tsunami, seems to have come back to life, but it is now facing major problems.

Due to changes in the marine environment, fish are no longer caught as they used to be.

The fishery production in Miyagi Prefecture was 77% of that before the earthquake.

In order not to stop the progress of reconstruction, the movement to search for a new fishing industry has begun.

(Sendai Broadcasting Station reporter Orie Sugimoto Kotaro Kitami)

Reconstruction with bluefin tuna fishing

Usufuku Honten, a fishing company in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture.

The company, which has seven fishing boats, has been fishing bluefin tuna in the Atlantic Ocean.

The tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake completely destroyed the company's buildings and washed away all cars and warehouses.

Ten years after the earthquake, the company's management has finally taken off with government subsidies.

However, tuna stocks are declining due to changes in the marine environment and overfishing.

Mr. Isotaro Usui, the president, is raising concerns about the future of bluefin tuna fishing.

President Usui

"If you don't catch as much as you want, but if you don't catch it properly, you will eventually lose bluefin tuna."

Appeal resource management and sell tuna at high prices

Therefore, Mr. Usui paid attention to the international certification called "MSC".

It is also called the "eco-label of the sea" in the international standard given to sustainable fisheries by an international non-profit organization headquartered in London to protect fishery resources.

Mr. Usui acquired this "MSC" for the first time in the world as a bluefin tuna fishing.

President Usui

"I would like to firmly differentiate between sustainable fish caught by Japanese fishermen through resource management and overfished fish. With that in mind, I decided to obtain certification."

In response to the Sustainable Development Goals = SDGs, companies are now focusing on environmentally friendly investments and transactions.

These movements are spreading to the fishery industry, and there is an increasing need for bluefin tuna caught with proper resource management.

It is said that the fishery company under the umbrella of a major trading company actually buys the bluefin tuna caught by Mr. Usui's company at a price that is about 10% higher than usual.

Toyo Refrigerator Yusuke Kishida

"The demand for certified products is extremely high. We have received inquiries not only from Japan but also from overseas, and exports to overseas will increase in the future."

Energize the fishing industry with a new fishery

Usui's company attaches electronic tags to all the tuna caught.

An IC chip is included in the tag, and information such as when and where the fish was caught is recorded.

Anyone can read this information by scanning the QR code and give the buyer a sense of security that it was not overfished.

As fishery resources are scarce, Mr. Usui believes that thorough resource management is indispensable for the reconstruction of the fishing industry ahead of others.

Mr. Usui

"I think it is our role to transform the fishing industry into an attractive growth industry and connect the baton to the next generation. It is not the end of obtaining certification, but the importance of resource management in various fields. I want to send it out. "

Wakame seaweed farming that spread after the earthquake is also in a pinch

Ten years after the earthquake, there is a movement to apply science and technology to respond to changes.

The research is conducted by Associate Professor Yukazu Aoki of the Graduate School of Agriculture, Tohoku University.

Associate Professor Aoki is working on an experiment to promote growth by shining blue LED light on farmed wakame seaweed.

After the earthquake, wakame seaweed farming became popular in the coastal areas of Miyagi prefecture.

This is because wakame seaweed farming has a small initial investment and can generate income in a relatively short period of time.

Wakame seaweed, which grows in the cold waters of Sanriku, is one of the special products that symbolizes reconstruction.

However, in recent years, the seawater temperature has risen and it has become difficult for the wakame seaweed to grow.

"Kaneki Yoshida Shoten" in Minamisanriku is also affected.

We have rebuilt the factory that was washed away by the tsunami, produced processed seaweed products, and rebuilt our business.

However, due to the decrease in wakame seaweed landing, it became difficult to secure raw materials, and last year's material costs soared about twice as much as before the earthquake.

We purchase wakame seaweed from other regions and secure a large inventory of frozen seaweed, but the impact on the balance is unavoidable.

Kaneki Yoshida Shoten President Shingo Yoshida

"I never imagined that the harvest of the sea would have such an extreme impact. I still don't want to lose hope when I'm overcoming the earthquake."

LED for farmed wakame seaweed

In response to SOS from President Yoshida, Associate Professor Aoki devised a tubular device of about 20 cm.

It is designed so that the blue LED lights only during the night.

Wakame seaweed is planted on aquaculture ropes and raised in the sea, and Associate Professor Aoki used this device to illuminate each plant with LED light.

Approximately one month after starting the experiment, in January, Associate Professor Aoki and his colleagues pulled up the wakame seaweed that was exposed to LED light and confirmed how much it was growing.

As a result, it was confirmed that wakame seaweed is growing about 20% more than usual.

Associate Professor Aoki and his colleagues are considering the intensity of LED light, the time it is applied, and the cost of the device for practical use.

Attention is being paid to whether it is possible to create a new form of wakame seaweed farming.

Associate Professor Aoki

"It is difficult to change the marine environment immediately, so if there is a technology that can be used in what we are thinking in the laboratory, I would like to make use of it. I want to be able to help with reconstruction as much as possible."

For further reconstruction

Even now, 10 years after the earthquake, Sanriku's fishing industry is still in a difficult situation without regaining the sales channels lost in the earthquake.

Due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection, it will not be possible to operate in the Tokyo metropolitan area, which is our customer.

On the other hand, fisheries companies are also considering using the newly opened Sanriku reconstruction road to sell marine products as the "Sanriku brand" together with multiple processing companies.

The necessary infrastructure such as the fish market is in place.

After that, the strength of the people concerned is being tested on how to use it to regain vitality.

As an interviewer, we would like to support the fishing industry in the disaster area.

Sendai Broadcasting Station Reporter

Orie Sugimoto

Joined the

station in

2007.

Worked at the Sendai station at the time of the earthquake.

After

working at the

International Department, was in

charge

of

Myanmar at the

Directorate General of Asia.

Currently, he is in charge of economics at the Sendai station.

Sendai Broadcasting Station Reporter

Kotaro Kitami

Joined in 2019

After working as a prefectural police officer,

Kesennuma branch office from last year