Fisheries Promotion Group, Higashidoori Village

Issue 2FISHERIES NEWSThe Seaside Flavor of Higashidoori

January-March 2017
Fisheries ResearchThe Japanese Sandlance stock
has been depleted in Aomori. A
total 59 sandlance werecollected off the coast of
S h i t s u k a r i l a s t S e p t e m b e r.
Research to collect sandlance
eggs was conducted thisFebruary. The author reports on
how we collect tiny sandlance
eggs from the vast Pacificocean.

Season of Seaweed
Seaweed in Higashidoori is at its
best during this season. The harshand cold winter in the village
nurses 3 types of seaweed(Funori, Matsumo and Iwa-nori).
The author introduces thebiology, harvesting and cookingof these local delicacies.

Red carpet of “Funori" seaweed along the coast of Shiriya

Sandlance Spawning Research
Does Sandlance still spawn? If so, Where?
The author accompanied by Fisheries Research Station in Aomori toassist in research to collect sandlance eggs, which have been
depleted in Aomori. Off the coast of Shitsukari where young fish
were collected last year, we sank a plankton net (<1mm meshaperture) down to the bottom, and collected the sand which whirled
up when the net reached the bottom. We can find the eggs with thenaked eye if collected. However, we could not find any this time. Theauthor stared at small crustaceans (copepods) as they glittered in
the sunlight, and remembered his days in university.

Trip Essay of Fisheries
Author’s trip essay to learn about
the fisheries in Oki islands,Shimane. While spending a timewith the warm-hearted islanders,
he enjoyed seafood, and learned
a lot about fisheries there. The
trip was full of encounters andexperiences, even though heplanned nothing but buying aticket.

Casting a plankton net

Staring at a sample to find eggs

Seaweeds in the best season
We can see fishermen/women
harvesting seaweed aroundHigashidoori from Winter to Spring.
The author introduces 3 tasty
seaweeds (Funori, Matsumo and Iwanori), nursed by the harsh and cold
winter. The author also talks about
the habitat, life cycle, harvest, taste,and cooking.

Fishermen harvesting “Iwa-nori”

1Fisheries Promotion Group, Higashidoori Village

Issue 2

“Funori”
Rhodophyta seaweed belongs to the Endocladiaceae
family distributed all over the coast of Japan. This
seaweed inhabits the upper intertidal zone. This
seaweed sprouts from an adhesive root on a rock inSeptember. In the village, this seaweed is harvested in“Funori” covering a rock
April and May in Shiriya and Iwaya. However, the texture
Fisherwomen plucking “Funori”
of this seaweed in April and May is chunky, and asofter. This texture is favored by the locals. Fishermen/
women in Iwaya and Shiranuka harvest “Funori” with
soft texture in February and March for house
consumption. This seaweed is also utilized as an“Funori” turns green
Locals with a woven basket
adhesive ingredient of Buckwheat noodle “Hegi-soba”,
when heated
and as a traditional starch adhesive. The scene ofharvesting this seaweed in Shiriya is a Spring tradition of the village. A green color, which represents green
pigmentation (Chlorophyl), appears when it is heated, but afterwards the green disappears and red appears again.
The author enjoyed this transient change of color when he put it into a soup.

“Matsumo”
Phaeophyta seaweed belongs to the Ralfsiaceae family
distributed on the Pacific coast of the Tohoku regionand Hokkaido. This seaweed inhabits between themiddle and upper intertidal zone. This seaweed named
after the shape of its leaves which look like pine
“Matsumo” (in the middle)
needles. “Matsu” means pine and “Mo” means algae.
Habitat of “Matsumo”
This seaweed also sprouts from an adhesive root on arock in early Winter. In early Spring (March), we see thescene in which local fishermen/women are harvesting
this seaweed in Iwaya, Shiriya, and Shiranuka. Locals
Dry it like a sheet
harvest with a knife and leave the adhesive root for theCut and harvest, andnear a stoveleaveitsroot
next season. This seaweed is preserved in dried orfrozen forms, however, fresh is the best. Locals enjoy
this seaweed with the cooking of “Matsumo-nabe” which is a one-pot dish in which this seaweed is swished inboiling broth and eaten with a soy-based sauce, or “Miso-kai-yaki” which is a traditional scallop dish flavored witha soybean paste cooked in a scallop shell. This seaweed turns bright green when it is cooked. The sticky andcrispy texture, and the seaside flavor of this seaweed are favored by locals. The author thinks that “Matsumo” isthe best local delicacy among 3 seaweeds introduced here. Aquacultural trials of “Matsumo” just started last year
because there is a high demand as a delicacy. But the culture and method have not been fully established yet andit is challenging.

“Iwa-nori”
Rhodophyta seaweed belongs to the Bangiaceae family
distributed all over the coast of Japan. This seaweed
inhabits the upper intertidal zone. This seaweed does
not have an adhesive root, and reproduction takes place
The author learning about
Harvesting “Iwa-nori” using“Iwa-nori” from locals
via spores. Locals in Iwaya only harvest this seaweed
a special stick “Nori-pashi”
which inhabits mussel using a special stick called “Noripashi”. Locals say that the seaweed growing on a
“Nori-pashi”
mussel has the best taste. The taste of this seaweed issaid to be different in each community by locals. Locals
in each community tell me that they are proud of theSquare section and tapering
shape. Length is 15-20 cm.
“Iwa-nori” on a mussel
seaweed around them. The author has not tasted all“Iwa-nori” in the village yet. It will take time. This
seaweed is throughly washed in freshwater, and dried near a stove. The best way to taste dried “Iwa-nori” isbaking. Lightly bake the dried seaweed in an oven, and sprinkle salt over it. You will enjoy its crispy and tendertexture along with the seaside flavor within it.
2Fisheries Promotion Group, Higashidoori VillageIssue 2

Essay ⓵『Author’s Trip to Fisheries island, Oki islands, Shimane』
The author travelled to the Oki islands in Shimane
during his Christmas holiday last year to pray fora good catch of squid in Higashidoori this year.
Yurahime shrine on Nishinoshima island venerates“Squid”. There is a myth in the island that once
upon a time, a squid bit a beautiful princes who
was setting out to the sea and the squid felt
ashamed of what he did. Thereafter the squidcame to be washed ashore every year to apologize for his transgression. Luckily the author could meet a chief
priest of the shrine and was able to hear about this myth. He said that he used to pick up a squid on a beachon his way back to home from school when he was a child. For some reason the squid does not wash ashore
now a days, however, this myth was definitely true. The author silently prayed from the heart for a goodcatch this year, while imagining a picture of people on the island busily picking up a squid in front of theshrine.
Essay ②『Trip without a plan is full of encounters』
The author visited a fish company selling live fish, and heard about the businessfrom the president. His story was interesting. The president kindly looked for aplace to stay for me whom had not planned for anything else but visiting thatcompany and the shrine. The Nishinoshima tourism office offered me a car tosightsee around the beautiful coast. The view from “Matengai” along Kuniga
Coast was magnificent. I stayed at the guesthouse run by a fisherman’s familyin Ama-town, and spent a great New Year’s Eve with delicious seafood. On New
Year’s Day, a fisherman (owner) from the guesthouse took me to retrieve a gill
net laid in the day before. Watching a beautiful sunrise, I had a “omiki”, whichis the sacred sake which is used as a ritual libation offered to a god with him,and caught some fish. With a happy expression on his face, the old fisherman
said to me that he had rarely been out at a sea on New Year’s Day. I wrote atanka poem and dedicated it to the Oki shrine venerating the Gotoba Emperor
long long ago. This unplanned trip was full of experiences and encounters. Theauthor is now thinking about the next place he will go. Where might that be??
“Watching at sunrise
Net in my hands
Full of fishes, full of hopes
What a nice day on New Year’s Day
What nice islands, Oki islands”

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