17南太平洋海域調査研究報告
OCCASIONAL PAPERS

No.58（2017 年 3 月）
No.58（March 2017）

Efforts for Improving the Distribution of Fishery Productsin Toshima, Kagoshima Prefecture
TORII Takashi
Faculty of Fisheries, Kagoshima University

Abstract
The fishing industry in remote islands often has disadvantages in terms of the distribution of products.
Although remote islands enjoy abundant resources in surrounding fishing grounds, they are at a great
disadvantage when it comes to deriving value from such resources. Therefore, fishing businesses in remoteislands generally do not tend to be profitable. Fishery is a key industry for most remote islands. There is apossibility that a decline in fishing activity may weaken the local economy, local communities and themultifaceted functions of the remote island’s fishing activity (e.g., maritime surveillance function andresource management function). Further, maintenance of the fishing industry on remote islands is a greatchallenge for the national economy. In this paper, I will discuss the case of Toshima, a village in
Kagoshima Prefecture, where the distribution of fishery products has been improved through theintroduction of freezing technology. Previously in Toshima, fishery products were shipped fresh using
ferries. However, the ferries run only twice a week and are cancelled in bad weather. Further, ferry
shipment requires a large amount of time and cost in transporting fishery products to the Kagoshima City
Fish Market. In 2011, Toshima introduced state-of-the-art freezing facilities and established a system
wherein a private company would undertake the freezing and selling of fishery products. This has resulted
in reliable shipping and low transportation cost, among other benefits.
Keywords: disadvantages in terms of the distribution, freezing facilities, low transportation cost, reliable
shipping

Purpose of the Study and Challenges
The fishing industry located in remote islands witnesses many disadvantages fromproduction to sales. With respect to production, operating costs are high due to the high costof fuel and fishing materials. Due to their small local markets, remote islands have to rely on
the mainland market and shipping costs to reach such markets are high. Moreover, shipping isrestricted by ferry schedules, and the time taken to reach the mainland market results in thereduction of freshness of products, thereby reducing their unit prices.

18TORII Takashi

In this paper, using a case of Nakanoshima Island (one of the islands of Toshima) which
has been making efforts to improve the distribution of fishery products through theintroduction of freezing technology, I will discuss the history of such efforts, the results
achieved so far, and future prospects.

Outline of the Fishing Industry in Toshima
Toshima is a village consisting of the Tokara Islands and has a population of 689 people.
The Toshima Fisheries Cooperative has 33 full-time members of which five members are
full-time fishing operators. Many of the other members are part-time fishing operators
concurrently running accommodation, livestock, recreational fishing boat or other businesses.
The main fishing methods used in Toshima are rod fishing, gillnet fishing and free divefishing. The village has been witnessing an increase in both the annual catch volume andvalue. Compared to the levels in early 2000s, the total catch value increased fourfold and thetotal catch amount increased threefold in 2014 (Fig. 1). These increases were due to theintroduction of freezing facilities in 2011. Previously, shipping to the mainland market had tobe cancelled when lots were not filled owing to the inability to cover shipping expenses. Now,as will hereafter be discussed, Yamaguchi Suisan, the company that manages the new freezing
facilities, purchases even one fish, and because of this, local fishing operators have started
shipping out fish and shellfish that would otherwise have to be consumed by the operatorsthemselves. Seeing this as a new income generating opportunity, some elderly fishing
operators have started operating more often.
Until 1998, all fishery products from the village were shipped to the Federation ofFisheries Cooperative Associations in Kagoshima Prefecture (hereinafter the Federation), awholesaler for the prefectural market. However, shipping destinations have become

Fig. 1. Change of fishery in Toshima (Source: Toshima Fisheries Cooperative Association).

19
Efforts for Improving the Distribution of Fishery Products in Toshima, Kagoshima Prefecture

diversified since 1998 and the rate of selling fish through the Federation has dropped to60–80% since 1999. The introduction of freezing facilities in Takarajima Island in 2011 and inNakanoshima and Tairajima islands in 2013 (Yamaguchi Suisan was designated as a manager
for these facilities) prompted many fishing operators to send their catches to Yamaguchi
Suisan, reducing the rate of selling fish through the Federation to slightly over 10% since2013.
Unit shipping prices have been rising since 2011 owing to a slight increase in the unit
prices of fish and shellfish at the Kagoshima City Fish Market since 2011 and an increase in
the available shipping options, among other reasons.

Background on the Efforts to Improve Distribution by Freeze-Shipping
Ferry Toshima, which is used to ship fishery products from Toshima, is operated twice aweek, and the annual in-service rate is between 90% and 93%. Its operation is susceptible tonatural conditions such as typhoons and seasonal winds; therefore, the shipping of fish andshellfish from the village is dependent on natural conditions.
Further, shipping to mainland Kagoshima by ferry is expensive. For example,
transporting 100 kg of fish or shellfish from Toshima to the Kagoshima City Fish Marketcosts 89.5 yen per kg. In addition to this cost, shipping commissions of 5% and 5.5% arecharged by the Toshima Fisheries Cooperative and the Kagoshima City Fish Market,respectively. Due to the high cost of and other restrictions on shipping fish and shellfish, thedevelopment of a distribution system has been a challenge for promoting the fishing industryin Toshima.
In the midst of this, in 2011, the president of the Toshima Fisheries Cooperative at thetime and a member of the village assembly played a key role in examining the approach toimprove the village’s distribution system and deciding on the introduction of freeze-shipping.
It was agreed that Toshima would pay the cost of approximately 30 million yen for theinstallation of freezing facilities and Yamaguchi Suisan, as a designated manager, would
manage the freeze-processing business and the selling of processed products.

Freeze-Processing Business of Yamaguchi Suisan
History of Yamaguchi Suisan
Yamaguchi Suisan is a wholesaler of fishery products headquartered in Kagoshima City.
It operates in Miyazaki, Kumamoto and Oita prefectures as well as Kagoshima Prefecture. In
Kagoshima Prefecture, its customers are accommodation businesses and mass retailers. Thecompany also sells fishery products to mass retailers and accommodation businesses inMiyazaki and Oita prefectures.

20TORII Takashi

Business expansion to the Tokara Islands
Background on the launch of the businessIn 2011, Yamaguchi Suisan commenced the freeze-processing business in the Tokara
Islands. In response to the Toshima Village Office’s desire to improve their distribution
system for fish and shellfish harvested around the islands, in October 2011, the Toshima
Village Office, the Toshima Fisheries Cooperative and Yamaguchi Suisan concluded anagreement on the purchase of local fish and shellfish.
First, in 2011, Toshima installed quick-freezing facilities on Takarajima Island. As adesignated manager of the facilities, Yamaguchi Suisan started a business of filleting fish
harvested near the island and quick-freezing them. However, the catch amount on the island
was too small for the capacity of the facilities, which highlighted the need to use the facilities
more effectively.
Then, in 2012, Toshima installed quick-freezing facilities on Nakanoshima Island. The
original plan was that the residents of the island would run the facilities; however, the plan
was cancelled due to the residents’ inexperience in this business and since January 2013,
Yamaguchi Suisan has been running the business as a designated manager. It is involved in
the business of filleting fish harvested near the island, quick-freezing them and transportingthem to Yamaguchi Suisan in Kagoshima City using Ferry Toshima. Mr. Yuhei Yamaguchi
was in charge of the business and was essentially based on the island in 2013 and 2014.
When the business was launched, local fishing operators and local residents were keen to
know the purchasing conditions, hourly wages at the fishery processing plant etc. It wasdecided that monthly purchase prices would be set based on the average prices at theKagoshima City Fish Market. Further, it was decided that in principle, the total volumes offish and shellfish would be purchased; however, only shallow water fish and shellfish up to
two days after harvest and other fish and shellfish up to one day after harvest would beaccepted. Other conditions required that the fish caught was properly killed in seawater ice,and blood was removed from yellowfin tuna, skipjack and barracouta. Fish and shellfish thatwere not sufficiently chilled would be purchased at half prices or returned.
It was decided that local women would carry out freeze-processing. Currently, over 10
women are registered for this role and when fish and shellfish come in, the information iscirculated among the registrants and those available to perform the work. The hourly wage
has been set at 700 yen.
Development of the freeze-processing businessApparently, Yamaguchi Suisan experienced many troubles when they launched thebusiness on Nakanoshima Island. Initially, only a small amount of fish and shellfish wasbrought in. The islanders portrayed a wait-and-see attitude, doubting the motive of thecompany for starting the business. Most local fishing operators continued to ship their catches
to the Kagoshima City Fish Market, sending only a small amount of fish and shellfish(amount not large enough to fill up lots) to the island’s processing plant. As a result,freeze-processing at the plant often took only one hour.

21
Efforts for Improving the Distribution of Fishery Products in Toshima, Kagoshima Prefecture

In addition, the company had difficulty in handling fish. Once, the company purchased alarge amount of skipjacks but had to discard poor-quality fish stacked low in a ship’s hold.
The company lacked an understanding about the reality of the local fishing operations. They
even had difficulty in filleting fish.
With regard to fish species sellable at retail levels, the company continued to accumulateknowledge through the operation of the processing plant and selling activities. Bycatches
could only be sold for a limited time and quantity due to their small amounts, making it
difficult to incorporate them into the business. On the other hand, species such as Japanese
bluefish, splendid alfonsino and Japanese butterfish were selling well, prompting thecompany to consider increasing the transaction volumes of such fish.
Some local fishing operators misinterpreted “total volume purchase” for Yamaguchi
Suisan purchasing fish and shellfish of any quality. Occasionally, fish and shellfish that wereimproperly treated or harvested several days ago were brought in. The company had toexplain to such operators the intentions of the business and asked them to carry out thoroughfreshness control.
Through these efforts, Yamaguchi Suisan gradually won the trust of the islanders andlocal fishing operators. From the summer six months after the launch of the business, anincreasing number of fish and shellfish started to be brought in. It appears that the benefits ofusing the processing plant in comparison to directly shipping to the market, e.g., saving oftransportation and ice costs, time and effort, were finally understood by the operators.
As the business picked up, the company started receiving requests from clients. Local
fishing operators wanted the processing plant to operate whenever they went fishing,including during the Bon period, indicating that the local operators regarded Yamaguchi
Suisan as an important buyer. With regard to purchase prices, some operators requested that
their products be purchased at higher than average market prices. When market prices
remained high, some operators expressed dissatisfaction with the purchase prices set by thecompany. Yamaguchi Suisan has adhered to the policy of offering average market prices toclients and letting them decide whether they want to sell their catches to the company.
Results of the efforts for improving distribution, future prospect
It has been five years since Yamaguchi Suisan’s business in Toshima gained momentum,
and local fishing operators have expressed merits of engaging with the business, including the“avoidance of shipping expenses,” “saving of time and effort,” “ability to sell from small lots”
and “stable purchase prices.” The introduction of the freeze-processing plants has allowed
local fishing operators to operate regardless of the ferry schedule. Another change observed isthat the associate members of the local fisheries cooperative, many of whom harvest fish andshellfish for self-consumption, have started using the processing plants. In the past, when they
had a good catch, they tended to give away excess fish and shellfish to people on the island
because such excess fish and shellfish were not enough to fill lots for shipping. Yamaguchi
Suisan, which purchases even one fish from operators provided it is fresh, now functions as abuyer for such fishing operators.

22TORII Takashi

As a result, catches in the district managed by the Toshima Fisheries Cooperative haveincreased, and the business of Yamaguchi Suisan has grown and now handles a quarter toone-third of the total fish and shellfish yield in the area. On the other hand, the need tostrengthen the sales force of Yamaguchi Suisan has emerged.

Conclusion
In this paper, I discussed the effects of the freeze-processing business run by Yamaguchi
Suisan and its future prospects. The introduction of freeze-processing plants created a new
distribution route not restricted by the ferry schedule, giving local fishing operators anothershipping option. Local fishing operators can now determine the buyer of their fish andshellfish considering market prices, catches, transportation cost, time/effort required etc.
Because of the eased shipping-related restrictions, some fishing operators have started
going fishing more frequently. In addition, fishing operators who would not send their catches
to the market because they could not fill lots are now able to sell their products. As a result,since 2011, both the catch amounts and values handled by the Toshima Fisheries Cooperative
have increased, indicating that the installation of the freezing facilities to promote the local
fishing industry and the efforts made by designated manager Yamaguchi Suisan haveproduced a certain level of benefits.
The most significant reason that the development of a distribution system in Toshima haspromoted the local fishery production is the involvement of a private company with a strong
sales force. It may be true that fishing operators or the staff of a fishery cooperative would be
able to produce frozen products if freezing facilities are available and the necessary skills aremastered by them. However, simply freezing fish and shellfish do not make them products ofvalue. Only with the involvement of a company with the required experience and knowledge
on product creation and selling does frozen fish become a product in the true sense. Throughthe collaboration of suppliers (local fishing operators), a private company handling production
and selling (Yamaguchi Suisan) and a government that has been providing the necessary
facilities (Toshima), the results reported in this paper have been achieved.

P.S.
I hope that this paper assists Indonesia’s Maluku Province, which faces similar problems,in developing policies for improving their distribution system.

Acknowledgement
This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI Grant Number JP15K07614.