Pacific Saury Fishing Season Starts in Ofunato
OFUNATO, Iwate — Six large Pacific saury fishing vessels departed from the port in Ofunato, Iwate Prefecture, on Aug. 8. The port boasts one of Honshu’s largest volumes of landings of the fish, which is called sanma in Japanese.
On August 8, six substantial Pacific saury fishing vessels set sail from the port of Ofunato in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. Ofunato is renowned for its significant landings of Pacific saury, also known as sanma in Japanese. The fishing season for large vessels officially commenced on August 10, prompting the departure of these six ships from the Kamata Suisan Ltd., which operates six vessels weighing 199 tons each.
A ceremonial sendoff for the crew took place at the city's fish market on the same day, where family members of around 110 crew members waved paper streamers from the pier as the vessels embarked on their journey. Pacific saury catches have been increasing in recent years, with the city's catch for 2025 reaching a total of 8,437 tons, as reported by the national fishing cooperative of Pacific saury.
Shoji Takahashi, a 67-year-old fishing master aboard vessel No. 18 Mikasa Maru, expressed his desire to bring in a large catch of the fish to bring joy to everyone.
Written by urgent.news from The Japan News by The Yomiuri Shimbun's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
