Fishermen in quake-hit Notojima island are in high spirits after they resumed fixed-net yellowtail fishing and began landing whoppers weighing more than 10 kilograms one after the other.
Now is the peak season for winter yellowtail.
The magnitude-7.6 earthquake on New Year’s Day caused widespread damage to the fishing industry centered around the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture.
Like fishermen elsewhere in the region, those operating out of Enome Fishing Port in Nanao city have had their share of hardship.
Despite damaged roads and water outages, they say they need to look to the future.
“We can’t keep looking down,” said one.
Shortly after 4 a.m. on Jan. 18, three fishing boats returned in quick succession from the pitch-dark waters off Notojima. In the light rain, the fishermen sorted through their catches with practiced hands.
Each boat landed dozens of yellowtail with fat white bellies and shipped them to the market in Kanazawa.
According to the prefectural government, 58 of the 69 fishing ports in the prefecture were damaged by the quake and tsunami. The damage to boats and fixed nets was extensive, and most of the ports have yet to reopen.
Enome fishing port was also forced to suspend fishing activities due to the loss of ice machines and other problems. However, ice trucks from the Kanazawa market were ready to transport ice, and fishing resumed on Jan. 10.
Most of Nanao city is expected to be without water for more than two months, making it difficult to secure ice.
Even so, Kazuyuki Sakamoto, 40, the owner of a fishing boat, said: “I am grateful to be able to go fishing. By going back to work, I hope Noto as a whole will start to regain its vitality.”