This year's haul of sanma saury migrating near Japanese waters was forecast to be less than the previous year's low, the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency unveiled. As the low likelihood of sanma saury catches is high, the autumnal treat may be missing from restaurant menus and dining tables this year.
Saury fishing will begin in earnest in Japan's waters from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture starting in August and finishing in December.
The amount of sanma saury last year was 720,000 tons, the second-lowest on record since surveys began in 2003. Furthermore, the "one-year-old fish" typically sold fresh are also said to be small in size for this year.
The number of migratory sardines in Japan's fishing grounds have been rising, which has resulted in fierce competition between sardines and sanma saury for zooplankton as a food source. "The sanma saury has been driven further offshore so the fishing grounds are expanding," an agency official said.
Further concerns over Japan's low sanma saury catches have been the increasing hauls in international waters by Taiwan and China, which has led to speculation of overfishing in the high seas.
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