In Focus: Salmon disappearing as Japan's catch just 3% of 2003 peak

Despite hardships, fishing community continues to find ways to live with the sea Abashiri, one of the biggest salmon landing ports in Japan, in mid-October. The number of landings this year from fishing boats was extremely small. “No good again today,” a fisherman said disappointedly like many others. Salmon catches in Hokkaido this year have decreased by half from 2025, when the figure plunged about 70% from the previous year. (Photo by Arisa Moriyama) ABASHIRI/SHIBETSU, Japan -- Salmon catches in Hokkaido this autumn totaled just under 6,000 tons as of late October, only 3% of the 2003 peak. Fishermen are not only worried about poor catches this year, they are also agonizing over "whether they can continue salmon fishing," said Tetsuya Shinya, head of the Abashiri Fisheries Cooperative. Locals have long taken it for granted that salmon return to their natal streams and rivers. "Hokkaido has benefitted from salmon over more than 10,000 years," said Masaki Ichimura, director of the Shibetsu Salmon Museum. In addition to humans, wild animals in the forests, such as brown bears and foxes, have survived harsh winters due to the nutrition provided by salmon. Though salmon might be familiar to humans, there are still have many secrets to unlock about their behavior. Juvenile salmon swim from freshwater rivers down to the ocean. Feeding, growing and maturing in oceans including the Gulf of Alaska far away from Hokkaido, they return to the island three to five years later to spawn. The journey ends epically. After entering their natal river, they stop eating and swim upstream, getting battered and bruised while doing so. At the end, for those who survive, they muster all their remaining strength to lay eggs and fertilize them. They pass life on to the next generation, taking a toll on their own life. The life cycle of salmon has continuously brought benefits to humans since the Jomon period that dates to around 200 B.C. or earlier. Salmon has been at the forefront of Japan's aquaculture. In Hokkaido, humans have provided support for their homecoming journey since the Meiji era (1868 to 1912). In aquaculture, eggs are collected and incubated before the release of juveniles. While survival rates from the egg stage to the juvenile stage for salmon are said to range from 10% to 20% in the natural world, local aquaculture has raised the range to between 80% and 90%. In the 1970s, technological advances and favorable maritime environments achieved a steep increase in the salmon population that propped up the regional economy around the Sea of Okhotsk. But the situation has been shaken as an excessive decline in salmon resources has made it difficult even to secure adult salmon. Yasuyuki Miyakoshi, a counselor at the Kitami Salmon Enhancement Program Association, who examines each adult salmon at the organization's hatchery, said that salmon "are not only decreasing in number, but also maturing at a younger age and getting smaller in size." Climate change "has possibly created unfavorable environments for the survival of juveniles by making the food scarce in the seas," he added. Funding shortages are adding to the plight. Hatching and release is financed by contributions from fishermen's earnings from their catch. Drops in catches can weaken the work of raising the next generation of salmon. "The cycle of reproduction must be preserved especially in difficult times," said Osamu Ishizuka, an executive director at the association. "We will do everything we can by mobilizing all of our knowledge." Amid changes in the maritime environments for salmon fishing, onshore efforts are underway. The fisheries cooperative in Abashiri has adopted a mechanism for the joint ownership of fishing boats by fishermen in order to streamline the cost of maintaining them and the fishing structure. In anticipation of a further decline in the salmon catch, the cooperative will consider reducing the number of fishing boats and nets. Hokuyo Kyodo Gyogyobu, a salmon fishing company in the town of Shari, has attempted to find ways to sell salmon at higher prices. For example, it guts and washes salmon immediately after landing in order to improve the taste of the fish and preserve their freshness longer. Thanks to this practice that has been praised by restaurants, the company's salmon sell at prices 30% to 40% higher than usual. Additionally, Hokuyo Kyodo deep-fries blowfish, incidentally caught in set nets, and prepares them as an ingredient for hot pots, while also making seaweed gelato. The company is eying other ventures such as brewing sake under the sea and operating an inn featuring fisherman's dishes. "We are facing a terrifyingly poor catch of salmon," said Masayoshi Itou, a director at Hokuyo Kyodo. "I occasionally feel bummed out, fearing that salmon will no longer return. We want to preserve fishing. We want this town to remain a place where people of the next generations can work in the beautiful sea, fall in love with someone and live together with their families."