## Share of Japan's fishery and aquaculture production accounted for by producers in the area from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture (2010)

## Section 3: The impact of the disaster on Japan's fishing industry

## (1) The roles of the affected area’s fishing industry

O Fishing and aquaculture from Hokkaido to Chiba Prefecture accounts for 50% of the nationwide total, making this region a major supplier of Japan's seafood products.

The severely damaged region of the Pacific coast from Aomori Prefecture to Chiba Prefecture is home to several core ports including Hachinohe, Kamaishi, Ofunato, Kesennuma, Onagawa, Ishinomaki, Shiogama, and Choshi. Fishery-related industries, such as local fish markets, fishery processors, distributors, shipbuilders, and fishing gear manufacturers, cluster in the areas around these core ports, and the reciprocity among these industries contributes to regional development.

Catch quantities	Aquaculture production quantities	Total
Hokkaido Prefecture	1,261,848	141,922	1,403,770
Aomori Prefecture	128,491	90,478	218,969
Iwate Prefecture	136,416	51,434	187,850
Miyagi Prefecture	224,588	123,323	347,911
Fukushima Prefecture	78,939	1,459	80,398
Ibaraki Prefecture	183,918	x	183,918
Chiba Prefecture	162,634	15,497	178,131
Total, 7 prefectures	2,176,834	424,113	2,600,947
Share of nationwide total	53%	38%	50%
Total, Aomori Prefecture Pacific Coast ~ Chiba Prefecture	897,073	191,821	1,088,894
Share of nationwide total	22%	17%	21%
Nationwide	4,121,038	1,111,338	5,232,376

Source: MAFF, Annual Statistics on Fishery and Aquaculture Production

*1: The aquaculture production quantity for Ibaraki Prefecture has been concealed with an “x” for the sake of survey confidentiality. Since these figures are not public, they have not been included in the total.

*2: "Aomori Prefecture Pacific Coast" refers to the municipalities located in the area stretching from the border of Sai Village (Shimokita-gun) and Mitsu City south to the border with Iwate Prefecture.

## (2) The impact on the domestic distribution of fish and fishery products

The seafood and seaweed produced by the fisheries and aquaculture along the Sanriku coast, which account for a major share of the nationwide total, include commercially harvested wakame, abalone and sea urchin, and cultured wakame, oysters, scallops, sea squirts and coho salmon. The supply of these seafood and seaweed has fallen across Japan.

The core ports in the Sanriku region have been impaired, and many offshore and far-seas fisheries have started to land their catches in ports outside of Sanriku. For example, skipjack pole and line vessels are landing catches in Choshi and Katsuura until the fish market at Kesennuma resumes operations. That being said, the national catch volume of skipjack in 2011 did not change much from those in the previous three years, so the retail prices in the 23 Wards of Tokyo and in Osaka city have not fluctuated much.

Katsuura (Chiba Prefecture) Catch Statistics

Source: Drafted by the Fisheries Agency based on Japan Fisheries Information Center (JAFIC) documents

Skipjack retail price (23 Wards of Tokyo)

Apr. May June July Aug. Sept. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Mar.

Source: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Retail Price Survey

Note: Survey only covers the months of March through October.