Japan's herring catch plummets 61%!

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Japan's herring catch plummets 61%!

As the herring fishing season along the coast of the Sea of Japan gradually draws to a close, this year's herring production has brought shocking news. According to the latest statistics from the Hokkaido government, the cumulative herring catch from March 21 to 31 was only 1,622 tonnes, an increase of 144 tonnes from the previous round, but overall still a sharp drop of 61% year-on-year, only 39% of last year's level.

Regional differences are obvious, with production hitting lows in many areas

Although the overall situation is grim, the fishing performance in different regions shows significant differences:

• The Kita-Shiribeshi region improved slightly, with a cumulative catch of 328 tonnes, up 33% year-on-year, but still far below the historical average. Among them, the Otaru City Fisheries Cooperative caught 214 tonnes, contributing the most to the region; Yoichi 88 tonnes, and Higashi-Shakotan 25 tonnes.
• The Ishikari Bay Fisheries Cooperative performed well at first, with a total catch of 1,198 tonnes, a sharp increase of 41% year-on-year. However, in late March it fell off a cliff, recording only 66 tonnes.
• The Rumoi region remained sluggish, with the four fisheries cooperatives catching only 95 tonnes in total, less than 40% of the same period last year. In the last ten days, only 45 tonnes were caught.
• By contrast, the Minami-Shiribeshi region became a bright spot, with Suttsu Town contributing 319 tonnes and Kudo District 62 tonnes, for a total of 385 tonnes in the last 10 days, adding a glimmer of hope to the whole region.

Meanwhile, on April 8, the Sapporo Central Wholesale Market received 4 tonnes of herring from Nemuro, with a median wholesale price of 270 yen/kg (about 12.96 yuan/kg).

Livelihood and ecology face dual challenges

Herring and its roe are important aquatic resources in Japan, especially in Hokkaido. They are not only widely used for food, but also commonly found in processed foods and New Year dishes, and by-products are further used for feed and fertilizer.

Due to factors such as fluctuations in seawater temperature in recent years, unstable reproductive cycles, and damage to the fishing ground environment by human activities, herring resources have shown obvious signs of instability. Experts point out that if resource management and protective fishing cannot be carried out in time, herring may face a "resource-level crisis" in the future.

The outlook for the fishery is worrying, and pressure to transform is intensifying

Facing the continued sluggish catch situation, many fishing villages along the coast of Hokkaido are facing the real problem that "the catch is not enough to support a family." Some cooperatives are already considering reducing the scale of operations or even suspending trips to sea; at the same time, some fishermen are trying to find a way out through aquaculture or switching to other species.

"This year's harvest is really terrible. We can only see whether it will improve next year," a fisherman from Otaru said helplessly.

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