Photo/Illutration Juvenile "hanasakigani" blue king crabs released to the ocean in Nemuro City, Hokkaido, on May 12, 2020 (Masahmi Ohno)

The Nemuro Peninsula in Hokkaido forms the easternmost tip of Japan. There, the "hanasakigani" blue king crab fishing season is now at its peak, accompanied by the raucous chorus of flocks of seabirds.

These crabs inhabit the peninsula's Pacific Ocean side, but rarely on the Sea of Okhotsk side.

According to Ryoji Kudo, 50, of the Nemuro City Fisheries Research Institute, the largest haul of the crabs of about 450 tons was recorded back in 1993. But after years of poor catches, the volume has since shrunk to only about one-fifth of the peak.

The city is now switching fast from catching to cultivating the species.

Abutting the institute is the Nemuro City Cultivation and Fisheries Research Center, where Kudo gave me a guided tour.

The center is a product of a Japan-Russia joint economic activities program proposed in 2016 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. As a means for seeking to resolve territorial disputes over the Northern Territories, the program called for the "cultivation of sea urchins and multiple species of fish."

The center was completed in spring last year as the program's base to the tune of 100 million yen ($909,213), which was jointly funded by the Japanese government and Hokkaido Prefecture.

The seeding production of hanasakigani was always deemed extremely difficult. But by trial and error, the city's fisheries research institute persisted for two decades and finally got the project on track.             

And just when the institute was facing problems caused by overcrowded fish tanks, the new center came into operation and more than doubled the number of tanks to 76.

Thanks to this, the number of juvenile crabs released in the ocean this spring reached a record 550,000.

With its sea urchins, red king crabs, "hokkai shimaebi" shrimp and other fish, the center is operating at full capacity. But due partly to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Russia has made no request for an inspection tour.

And nobody is talking anymore about Japan-Russia joint economic activities, either.

Kudo, however, remains optimistic. "We are 'cultivating sea urchins and multiple species of fish' steadily and surely, and we'll be fully prepared whenever Japan-Russia talks begin picking up speed," he said, smiling.  

Diplomacy is in the doldrums, but the future of cultivation fisheries is full of promise.

May you keep multiplying, crabs.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 26

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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