Japan saury fishing season off to good start

The saury fishing season in Japan has got off to a good start with an industry body reporting catches in the first two months have topped 10,000 tons for the first time in six years.

The total catch in the two months following the start of the season in August stood at 12,000 tons, topping 10,000 tons for the first time since 2018, according to the national saury stick-held dip-net fishing cooperative.

The fish, known as sanma in Japan, sold for 724 yen per kilogram at the season's first auction at a market in Nemuro, Hokkaido, following a record high of around 140,000 yen per kg in 2023, when the total catch was below 25,000 tons.

"Though not as abundant as before, the catch is double last year's," said Kazuyoshi Shobayashi, the 59-year-old president of a fishery company in Nemuro. The port on the northern main island is known for landing the largest saury catch in the country.

Catches of the fish landed at ports in Japan were close to 225,000 tons in 2014 but fell to a record-low 18,000 tons in 2022.

The bumper hauls logged so far this year were attributable to the closer proximity of saury schools to the coast but the total amount caught is likely to remain as low as previous years, said an official of the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, which issues annual saury catch forecasts.

© KYODO