“Brightening the Market with Pacific Saury: Hopes Rise Among Stakeholders for the Return of Large Sizes”

In this season’s Pacific saury (sanma) fishery, landings of larger-sized fish are increasing. In recent years of poor catches, even when saury were caught, they were mostly thin and slender. The return of the plump, large saury once commonly seen has brought joy to those in the fisheries industry.

This year, large fishing vessels departed about 10 days earlier than usual, and compared to previous years when mainly small fish were landed, larger saury are being brought ashore. According to a national research institute, the main factor is believed to be that saury were able to obtain sufficient food during their spring and early-summer migration. However, the overall volume of incoming saury remains at the same low level as last year’s poor harvest.

Market officials report that by late August, the average size was about 1.4 times larger than the previous year. The fish are fatter and oil-rich, making them highly marketable with confidence. Although the total catch volume remains limited, the continued landings of larger saury are raising hopes that volumes will increase as the peak autumn season approaches.

With the rise in large-sized saury, the market is gaining momentum heading into the height of the season.