Chris Loew reports from Osaka, Japan as a contributing editor for SeafoodSource.com. In addition to writing for SeafoodSource.com, he covers Japan for
Author Archive
Japan’s legislature approved the administration’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2022 on 22 February, and with it, approved a series of fisheries-related expenses …
Photo courtesy of Dane
… Read More
Japanese fish dealers are reporting a lack of available farmed Atlantic salmon from Norway, which they have attributed to the closure of Russian airspace due to that country's conflict with Ukraine …
Photo courtesy of Pierre-Yves
… Read More
Suita City, Osaka, Japan-based Akindo Sushiro ran a nationwide campaign from 23 February to 6 March titled Absolute Champion Tuna Fair, in which diners could compare eating Irish tuna and Oma tuna.
The fair, which featured Atlantic bluefin tuna caught off the coast of Ireland, featured a Wild Tuna Assortment menu item priced at JPY 638 (USD 5.51, EUR 5.05) including tax. The four-piece sushi assortment featured three types of neta, or
… Read More
Argentine red shrimp have become a popular item during Japanese New Year, with seasonal demand pushing imports of the species to the top of the charts.
Head-on prawns are a traditional part of the Japanese New Year menu – whole boiled shrimp represent long life, with the curved body and long antennae symbolizing the stooped back and long whiskers of an old man.
Demand for Argentine red shrimp spiked in November 2021 as importers in Japan
… Read More
A new paper published 15 February in Fisheries Magazine confirms that salmon spawns fared worse in hotter, drier conditions.
The new paper, "Premature Mortality Observations among Alaska’s Pacific Salmon During Record Heat and Drought in 2019," found salmon had higher spawning success in glacier and snow-fed streams than in rain-fed streams in hot, dry conditions.
Drought conditions in 2019 caused many rain-fed streams in Alaska to dry up.
… Read More
Japan, which typically takes its lead on foreign policy from the U.S. – one of its closest allies – is expected to follow along with American-led measures to isolate Russia made in response to Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine …
Photo courtesy of 首相官邸ホームページ/Wikimedia
… Read More
Japan’s seafood exports recovered in 2021, and in some cases surpassed pre-pandemic levels, trade statistics from Japan’s Ministry of Finance show.
The recovery is in line with the government’s announcement in December 2021 that the annual value of Japan's agriculture, forestry, and fisheries exports for the year would exceed JPY 1 trillion (USD 8.7 billion, EUR 7.7 billion) for the first time. That figure was achieved through
… Read More
A false-origin labeling scandal has halted sales of Kumamoto Prefecture clams.
Japanese TV network Tokyo Broadcasting Station aired an investigative report on 22 January showing containers of chilled clams being shipped to the port of Shimonseki, trucked to Kagoshima, reloaded to smaller flatbed trucks, carried to the clamming area, then dumped and spread out. Then a clam combine was operated to pick up, wash, and bag the clams in new mesh bags.
… Read More
The Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission’s (IATTC’s) Early Life History (ELH) Group’s Achotines Laboratory, which has conducted research on tropical tunas in the Republic of Panama since 1986, recently reached the major milestone of successfully sustaining spawning yellowfin tuna in captivity for 25 years …
Photo courtesy of IATTC Achotines
… Read More
Hiroshima, Japan-based Farm Suzuki has turned to direct sales has a sales boost following disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Farm Suzuki specializes in Claire oysters, a type of oyster finished in “Claire ponds,” or former salt-evaporation ponds. The method imitates one used for centuries in the Marennes-Oléron region of France. Because the oysters eat green algae that grows in the brackish ponds, the
… Read MoreRecent Articles
