What is the unexpected reason for the unfishing of sand lance, which is loved by Hyogo citizens?
March 16th, 15:44
Every year around March, Hyogo Prefecture has news that is sure to be featured in local newspapers and television.
The ban on sand lance fishing in the Seto Inland Sea has been lifted.
The last few years have been poorly caught and have been widely reported each time.
When I moved to Kobe last year, I heard the story that "it seems to be unfishing," and I was interested in seeing the seriousness of the worried people.
Ammodytes lanceolata, a fish that is rarely heard outside the prefecture.
Why is that poor catch the big news?
When I started the interview, I could see the deep problems surrounding the sea, the long history, and the passionate love of the citizens of the prefecture.
(Kobe Broadcasting Station reporter Naoki Hatsuda)
What kind of fish is sand lance?
Sand lance is a small fish that grows up to 20 cm.
It is distributed all over the world including Asia, Europe and Alaska.
In Japan, it inhabits the Seto Inland Sea, the northern part of Hokkaido, and the coasts of Miyagi and Ibaraki prefectures.
When hatched around January, it grows into a fry "Shinko" with a body length of about 4 cm every year from late February to early March.
When it reaches this size, it is landed at fishing ports in Kobe and Akashi at the signal of this year's fishing in the Seto Inland Sea.
According to Hyogo prefecture, the catch in the prefecture exceeded 30,000 tons in many years until 20 years ago, but then gradually decreased, and four years ago in 2017, it dropped sharply to 1,000 tons.
Last year it was only 147 tons.
The production value, which used to exceed 6 billion yen, dropped to 379 million yen last year, and fishermen have been seriously hurt.
"Local taste" is a big pinch!
This "news about the sharp decrease in sand lance" is important for Hyogo residents.
That's because sand lance is a soul food (!) That is loved by the citizens of the prefecture.
"Kugi-boiled" is a sweet and spicy simmered freshly landed shinko with soy sauce or sugar.
The book published in 1945 says:
From Tsunekichi Uotani's
"Shimi
Fudoki",
"Nail simmered" is the most delicious dish of sand lance fish (= sand lance). I'm glad that it's easy to preserve. "
There are also two stone monuments of "the birthplace of simmered kugi" in Kobe city.
This nail boiled was delivered to various places to thank for the support of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and it seems that there are many fans all over the country.
Currently, there are more than 10 manufacturing companies in the prefecture, and there are also specialty stores for sales.
I also bought it for the first time.
At a local supermarket, 50 grams, 430 yen.
It's not as good as "how much" or "sea urchin", but it's a good price.
When you eat it on hot rice, the sweet and salty taste spreads in your mouth, which is delicious!
And surprisingly soft.
It seems that rice will go on as many cups as you like.
There were various types such as ginger, walnuts, and Japanese pepper cooked together.
I visited the Uo no Tana shopping street in Akashi City, where sand lances are actively landed.
In 1989, when I heard about it at a long-established store that mainly handles local seafood, the price of Shinko has risen about four times in the last few years.
As a result, the price of "simmered nails" has also risen, and it seems that the selling price has doubled in the last five or six years.
President Shirakawa
"Since its founding, we have been purchasing nail simmered in the prefecture, but last year we purchased products manufactured outside the prefecture such as Hokkaido. It was a tough decision just because we were particular about Akashi products. Has become a high-class fish. I hope it will recover as much as possible in the future. "
Thorough investigation of reasons for poor fishing
I visited the Fisheries Technology Center of the prefecture to hear why it decreased.
We welcomed Mr. Minoru Tanita, a technical advisor, and a professional with 40 years of research experience in the environment of the Seto Inland Sea and fish.
In the guided room, there was a pile of bottles filled with elongated creatures in formalin.
The number is about 500.
Mr. Tanita
"All this is sand lance. There are 35 years worth."
Mr. Tanita focused on the data of sand lance and the water of the Seto Inland Sea.
As the leader of a research team to elucidate sand lance non-fishing under the special order of the prefecture, I thoroughly investigated it over 5 years.
Then, it became clear that the concentration of "nutrients" such as nitrogen and phosphorus contained in the sea was deeply involved.
Mr. Tada:
"Nutrients are nutrients for phytoplankton, but in the Seto Inland Sea, they are one-third less than they were 30 years ago. Plankton is reduced, and the sand lance that eats it is also affected. In fact, in 30 years, sand lances have become as thin and small as 20%, and the amount of eggs laid per animal has decreased by 30%. "
What is now in the Seto Inland Sea
So why did the ocean lose nutrients?
When I asked Mr. Tada, I got an unexpected answer.
Mr. Tada
"That
's
because the Seto Inland Sea has become" too clean "."
It ’s beautiful, so it ’s not good!
??
He taught me the history of the Seto Inland Sea.
On the coast of the Seto Inland Sea, the population has been increasing due to the location of factories and companies since the 1970s.
A lot of water containing nitrogen and phosphorus, such as factory water and domestic wastewater, flowed into the sea.
As a result, plankton were breeding and causing red tide.
There was also toxic plankton, and many farmed yellowtails died.
To prevent red tides, the country has tightened wastewater regulations and developed sewage treatment facilities.
Then, the transparency of the seawater gradually increased and it became "clean", but the nutrients did not flow in and the plankton decreased.
Mr. Tanita points out that this is the main cause of the sharp decline in sand lance.
It was in a state of "if the water is clean, no fish will live".
Mr. Tada:
"The sea has become so clean that the food chain has been distorted. Instead of focusing solely on the idea of cleaning, what kind of sea should the Seto Inland Sea be made, including the citizens who live there? Think about how to go. The sharp decrease in sand lance may be a trigger for that. "
To recover resources Drain all the water from the pond!
??
Hyogo Prefecture is working with local fishermen's cooperatives to take measures.
One of them is "undersea plowing".
When a device with claws is submerged in the sea and pulled by a ship to dig up the bottom, nitrogen and phosphorus in the accumulated sand and mud are released into the sea.
In Hyogo Prefecture, a total of 2,300 vessels are currently working, the largest number in Japan.
The local Akashiura Fisheries Cooperative has created a promotional video about "Undersea Tillage" for 2.4 million yen and has released it on YouTube so that the citizens can know about the problems of the sea.
Akashi City is focusing on an initiative called "kai digging" that uses a pump to pump muddy water with plenty of nutrients that has accumulated at the bottom of the pond because there are about 100 in the area.
In addition, "fish food education".
This is a class in which the instructor goes to an elementary school to judge and eat fish with children.
The aim is to get people to know the deliciousness and to be interested in the problems of the sea.
Next year, the "National Rich Sea Making Tournament" will be held in Akashi City, and the prefecture wants to disseminate these efforts.
Amendments to laws and ordinances
In addition, Hyogo Prefecture revised the "Ordinance on Environmental Conservation and Creation" in 2019.
It is the responsibility of prefectures and businesses to strive to regenerate the rich and beautiful Seto Inland Sea, and it is the first time in Japan that the lower limit of the concentration in the sea has been set by appropriately managing nitrogen and phosphorus contained in factories and domestic wastewater. It is an ordinance.
Then, on February 26, the Cabinet decided on an amendment to the "Seto Inland Sea Environmental Conservation Special Measures Law," which Hyogo Prefecture and others have filed.
In addition to lowering the concentration of nitrogen and phosphorus as before, it will also be possible to increase it, and then coastal prefectures will be able to set target values for concentrations according to the actual conditions of each sea area. I am.
Mr. Enomoto,
"I want to aim for a" rich and beautiful sea "by properly managing nutrients. I want everyone in the country to eat delicious fish from the Seto Inland Sea and pass it on to my children and grandchildren. "
From the beautiful sea to the rich sea
On March 6th, the sand lance fishing of this year began.
At the first auction of the Hayashizaki Fisheries Cooperative in Akashi City, a record high of 3800 yen per kilo was reached.
"It's a little better than last year, but the situation remains tough," said a person familiar with the matter.
What impressed me in this interview was the "love of sand lance" of Hyogo citizens.
When I cut out "Tell me a story about sand lance" in the shopping district,
"I'm really in trouble."
"It's no longer the taste of the common people
.
"
"I'm lonely. Spring Akashi is sand lance."
I heard a lot of stories.
The effects of nutrient deficiency in the Seto Inland Sea are also seen in the discoloration of sardines and the decrease in shellfish.
Since nature is our partner, it may be difficult to get immediate results.
Nevertheless, the citizens of the prefecture are hoping that the government's efforts and revisions to the law will help restore the rich Seto Inland Sea.
After working for
Kobe Broadcasting Station reporter
Naoki Hatsuda
Shimbun, he joined the
station in 2017. Since
2nd year
, he is in
charge of Akashi municipal administration, which is famous not only for sand lance but also for octopus and Thailand.