Poor saury catches in Japan as fish stay east

Because of change in the migration route of saury, landings up to mid-September were only 20 percent of the previous year’s, leading to wholesale prices at Tokyo’s Tsukiji market to double or triple year-on-year.

Retail stores have not been able to offer saury at the bargain price of about JPY 100 (USD 1.02, EUR 0.75), as they have in recent years. Instead, supermarket prices of JPY 198 (USD 2, EUR 1.49) were seen in August and early September. Large fish were offered as high as JPY 250 (USD 2.55, EUR 1.89) to JPY 350 (USD 3.57, EUR 2.64) in Tokyo, while a more reasonable JPY 198 to JPY 298 (USD 3.04, EUR 2.25) was often seen in the supermarkets in Osaka. Large saury sold in sashimi form was offered at JPY 400 (USD 4.08, EUR 3.02) to JPY 680 (USD 6.94, EUR 5.13) each.

Juvenile saury migrate to the North Pacific in spring and run back down along the coast of Hokkaido and northern Honshu as adults in late summer and fall. As seawater temperatures decline, schools move southward to Hokkaido, where Nemuro is the leading saury port, and thence to the Sanriku region of Honshu Island, where Kesennuma in Miyagi Prefecture is the major port. The season usually begins in northern Hokkaido in mid- to late August and progresses south through October. Saury caught in northern Japan have a higher oil content and so are more flavorful. They are popular fresh, while the leaner fish of the southern part of the range have a longer frozen shelf life.

This year, summer was hot in Japan, and warmer water temperatures delayed the southwest migration of saury. Pacific saury lingered too far east from Hokkaido ports, so early September catches were light.

The fishing port of Onagawa, Miyagi Prefecture began landing saury on 12 September, while in most years the first landings are in late August. A large festival in Tokyo on 17 September featuring saury from Kesennuma got its main dish just in time, as the migration was slow to reach that port.

According to the Tohoku National Fisheries Research Institute of the Fisheries Research Agency, since 2010, saury traditionally frequenting Japanese waters have moved toward the east of the Pacific Ocean. While the fishing grounds used to be located a half-day from the port of Nemuro in Hokkaido, they now take more than a day to reach. Fishermen complain that higher fuel bills are cutting into their profits.

Pacific saury catches fluctuate widely by year, depending on the weather and other factors. In fiscal 2009, catches were abundant, reaching around 300,000 metric tons (MT). In fiscal 2010 — which this year is shaping up to resemble — only about 200,000 MT were caught, as unseasonably warm ocean waters kept the fish well offshore in deep water, and to the north of Hokkaido. The following year the fishery was struck by tsunami with massive losses of vessels and frozen saury stocks, but with good catches once the season began. Last year was fairly normal, with an ample catch and typical migration route.

Saury, or “sanma,” is commonly broiled whole, and served garnished with grated daikon radish. To add insult to injury, daikon radish was also expensive this year. Rainy weather prevented insecticide application in Hokkaido, resulting in crop damage. The quantities offered at the Tokyo Central Market were down by 10 percent while prices were nearly 40 percent higher, in anticipation of demand to accompany saury.

The higher price for saury had led to price rises in similar blue-skinned fish used for grilling. The average price of fresh domestic sardines at Tsukiji peaked at JPY 1,155 (USD 11.78, EUR 8.71) per kilogram on 3 September.

On 14 September, a dealer at the Tsukiji market commented, “Saury have become cheaper finally, and toward the end of the month it is increasing in size.”