Thoughts on Rishiri kelp
I’m Makoto Kaminari, a fisherman from Rishiri Island, the northernmost remote island in Japan!
Nice to meet you all! It has been 28 years since I inherited the house in 1990. For many years, I have been fishing for water octopus fishing, hockey sting net fishing, tuna fishing fishing, and hair crab and tarabagani special fishing net fishing with a fishing boat of about 5 tons, but at the milestone of the 20th year, I paid attention to the cultured kelp fishing that my father was doing, and since 6 or 7 years ago, I have been fishing for sea urchins mainly through cultured kelp fishing. I am a countryman who has never left the island and lived, but thank you everyone!!
Rishiri Island is Such a Place!
In the north of the Japan Sea, there is Rishiri Fuji, a 1,700m-class mountain, and Rishiri Island is an island that looks like it floats in the air. It is also called "Floating Island of Dreams".
It is also famous as a mountain that can be climbed from 0 m above sea level by mountaineers, and it is said that it is an island like no other in the world, let alone Japan. In the lush surroundings, the island is surrounded by sky blue in summer. The environment in the sea is also very good, and the snowmelt accumulated in the mountains contains a lot of nutrients from the forest and overflows from the foothills and the seabed over a period of about 30 years, so it has built a rich fishing ground. Growing up in such an environment is the high-grade Rishiri kelp that everyone knows.
I want to protect the broth of Japan.
Rishiri kelp has been known since ancient times!
In recent years, the breeding situation of natural products has deteriorated, and in that year, the variation in yield began to be noticeable, and in some districts there was no year.
Therefore, the predecessors have been engaged in farmed kelp fishing for about 30 to 40 years.
Rishiri Island has many elderly people, and the aging of fishermen in particular has become a serious problem.
There is a lot of work that takes a lot of time and effort until kelp becomes a product, and on the other hand, when the income is not as good as expected, young people tend to become fish species with good earnings, and I am also a young person. In addition, there are only about 10 juniors.
In addition, in recent years, the broth culture of Japan people has also become distant, and while it is finally trying to attract attention as "UMAMI" in the world, it is sad that the broth that has been necessary for Japan dishes for a long time will disappear. So, I thought about what I could do, and this time I focused on the sixth industry. By connecting with many consumers and me, who is involved in the primary industry, and attracting the attention of young people, I hope that Rishiri kelp will not be lost in the future.
