First Catch Of Pacific Saury Unloaded In Kesennuma
The season's first catch of Pacific saury has been unloaded at a port in Kesennuma, northeastern Japan.
The port is known for its large hauls of the fish, which is an autumn delicacy in Japan, traditionally enjoyed as a grilled dish.
A ship based in Fukushima Prefecture unloaded its catch on Monday morning. Large boats were allowed to start fishing for saury on August 20.
The first batch was caught in the North Pacific, 1,500 kilometers off the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
The haul of about 6 tons was better than the poor catches of recent years.
But it fetched a relatively modest price for the season's first catch -- selling at 369 yen, or about two dollars and seventy cents, per kilogram.
The reason was the small size of most of the fish, and because the catch had spent four days on the boat traveling from the distant fishing ground.
About 2,223 tons of saury were unloaded at Kesennuma last year, the least on record since 1974. Fishery officials expect a better haul this year, but still far from a bumper season.
The head of a fish processing firm expressed hope for the coming catches, saying it's been a while since saury were unloaded as early as August.