What is Japan's No. 1 seaweed production area?
February 7 18:16
The Ariake Sea off the coast of Saga Prefecture.
Known as Japan's No. 1 production area for farmed seaweed, this season is in an unusual situation.
It is said that production has fallen to half of the previous year due to a severe crop failure.
What is going on in one of Japan's leading nori production areas?
(Saga Broadcasting Station reporter Chie Watanabe)
The impact of halving seaweed production
When I saw the nori, I was surprised and wondered, "How can this happen?"
Glue on the right side.
It's not black and it's yellow green.
Furthermore, the texture is rough and bad, and the flavor is also impaired.
This is the so-called "discoloration", and damage has been reported in various parts of Saga Prefecture this season.
The Ariake Sea off the coast of Saga Prefecture is a major production area for seaweed farming, and Saga Prefecture has been No. 1 in Japan for both production volume and sales for 19 consecutive years.
Seaweed farming takes place in two seasons, from October to December and from January to March.
According to the Ariake Sea Fishery Cooperative Association in Saga Prefecture, the production volume in the first half of the season was over 275.63 million pieces.
It is said that only half of the 551.28 million copies produced last season were produced.
'Unthinkable situation'
The Ariake Sea off the coast of Saga Prefecture is Japan's number one producer of seaweed.
What the hell is going on here?
In mid-January, I got on a boat owned by Mr. Yoshito Nakajima (68) from Saga City, who has been farming seaweed for 50 years, and interviewed him.
Seaweed farming in the Ariake Sea is carried out by stretching seaweed nets on poles that have been set up in the sea in advance and allowing the seaweed spores to grow.
Taking advantage of the difference between high and low tides, which can reach up to 6 meters in the Ariake Sea, the seaweed net is not only placed in the sea, but also exposed to sunlight and wind to create a black, high-quality seaweed.
On this day, the harvest season for the second half of the season was approaching, and the sea was supposed to be covered with black seaweed nets.
However…
The seaweed used by Mr. Nakajima's fishing grounds had been damaged, causing the seaweed to turn brown and discolor the further it went offshore.
In addition to the severe color fading this season, the growth of the glue itself is also poor, and the production volume is said to have decreased by about 40% from the usual year.
Mr. Nakajima couldn't hide his disappointment at the recent rise in fuel costs for ships.
Mr. Yoshito Nakajima, fisherman:
“I was shocked when I saw seaweed that had faded. There was nothing."
Why is the crop failing?
Why are nori crops failing?
The cause is "lack of nutrition" in the sea due to "lack of rain" and "red tide".
Nori absorbs nutrients such as "phosphorus" and "nitrogen" dissolved in the sea and grows black.
However, a lack of nutrients will cause the color to fade and the flavor and quality to be impaired.
Nutrients in the sea are originally found in mountains, and when it rains, they are transported from rivers to the sea.
However, since October last year, when nori grows, it has hardly rained.
In the fishing grounds mentioned earlier, the damage was more pronounced ``the further offshore'' it was, probably because the farther away from the river, the less nutrients there were.
In addition, "red tide" occurs frequently.
Plankton also deprived the sea of nutrients, which were already scarce, and the growth of seaweed did not progress.
Furthermore, due to the cold wave last month, strong winds tore the nori nets, causing further damage.
Average price 2.5 times Unusual price hike
Due to the decrease in production volume, the trading price of seaweed is unusually high.
Nori auction held on January 20th.
Katsuhiro Harada, the president of Shirako Nori, a major seller of seaweed, was among those who evaluated the quality of the seaweed.
It is unusual for the president of an industry-leading company headquartered in Tokyo to come to Saga Prefecture to make a purchase himself.
Due to the rising transaction price, it is difficult for the person in charge to make a purchase decision alone, so he is going to the venue himself.
The average price of a sheet of seaweed on this day was 25.93 yen.
That's a 28% increase over the same period last year.
With the price of seaweed to be purchased so high, I was worried that I could not avoid raising the price of my company's products in the future.
President Harada
``There is a lot of competition for the glue that was exhibited, and the price is going up. It's a situation where you can't help it."
Furthermore, at the auction held on the 3rd of this month, the average price of one sheet of seaweed jumped to 33.12 yen, 2.5 times higher than the same period of the previous year.
A fishermen's cooperative official also said, "I don't remember it at least in the last 20 years," which is an unusual situation.
Sushi restaurant worried about the future
Local sushi restaurants, where seaweed is essential, are worried about the impact.
A sushi restaurant in Kanzaki City, Saga Prefecture.
The signboard menu is "rolled sushi" using local seaweed.
The store makes about 80 sushi rolls a day on average, and uses nearly 1,000 sheets of seaweed per month, worth about 80,000 yen.
Daichi Sato, the store manager, is concerned about whether the seaweed can be stably purchased, and whether the price of seaweed will rise as the price of various ingredients rises.
Manager Sato
: "To be honest, I have a lot of worries about 'I wish I could use glue.' He also said, "Please be prepared to raise the price if the glue runs out."
A special product to be proud of...
Nori farming is still in a difficult situation, but fishermen and Saga Prefecture are taking countermeasures, such as delaying the timing of setting up nets until nutritional conditions improve, and introducing plankton-eating oysters into fishing grounds. increase.
The seaweed farming season continues.
Mr. Nakajima and other fishermen interviewed said, "As a responsibility of the production area, we will not give up on getting as many sheets of good quality nori as possible."
It has a crisp texture, melts in the mouth, and has an outstanding aroma.
Saga seaweed is a local special product.
What will happen to the situation of glue in the future?
We will continue to investigate and keep you updated with the latest information.
Saga Broadcasting Station Reporter
Chie Watanabe Joined
in
2019 In
charge of prefectural government and economy From early morning until late at night