Fisherman Life Jan 1-38 - DavidMcRae · Company, located in Chitose Japan. The plant was in full...

n early November a delegation of eight, includingrepresentatives from the Pacific Urchin Harvestersassociation, the West Coast green Urchin Harvesters

Association and Juanita Rogers, management biologist fromDFO, traveled to Japan to investigate thesea urchin market.

During our stay in Tokyo we visited thesea urchin auction at the Tsukiji fishmarket over three mornings. We learnedthe mechanics of the auction and thevolume of sea urchin roe that is distributedthrough this market. The auction markethas been in decline as a distributionsource of sea urchin. More and moreproduct is now being sold directly tosupermarkets and sushi restaurant chains.Our delegation also met with 12 sea urchinwholesalers at the Canadian Embassy located in Tokyo. At thismeeting each of the Japanese wholesalers expressed theirviews on the industry, the state sea urchin imports and theirconcerns for the future of the industry supply.

We then traveled to Sapporo, located on the northernJapanese Island of Hokkaido. There we visited the local fishwholesale warehouse to observe the imported supply of seaurchins. Our host and guide Mr. Hashimoto arranged a visitto a local sea urchin processing plant, Chitose WashoCompany, located in Chitose Japan. The plant was in fullproduction, processing green sea urchins from Russia. Mostof this product originated from the disputed territory located

at the northern tip of Japan. Both Russia and Japan have laidclaim to a few uninhabited islands in this area.

Currently the sea urchin market in Japan is in over-supply.This has caused deflation in the price for urchin roe. Another

major concern is the rising Canadiandollar, making the Canadian productrelatively more expensive to othernations. The over supply of sea urchinshas moved sea urchins away from theclassification of a luxury food and is nowmore of a commodity. Sea urchins arenow widely available in mostsupermarkets and sushi restaurants. Eventhe lowest quality of sea urchin roe isavailable to consumers in the form of“cheap sushi”, as described by oneJapanese wholesaler.

The last night in Tokyo four fishermen that supply GrandHale Marine with sea urchins, were treated to dinner by Mr.Okazaki, wholesaler for the company in Japan. He reiteratedhis concerns about the rising dollar and the excess supply ofsea urchins. He also described the consumer’s desires toknow who is catching their sea urchins and where they arecoming from. Mr. Okazaki encouraged us to revisit Japan ona more frequent schedule.

For more information on sea urchins and sea urchin fishing inCanadian waters, visit: www.kuroshio.com David S. McRae, DirectorPacific Urchin Harvesters Association, and urchin fisherman.

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24 · FISHERMAN LIFE January 2004

Signals Change inJapanese Seafood Industry

SeaUrchinMarket

Lions Gate Fisheries Ltd.

LADNER (604) 946-1361 · TOFINO (250) 725-3731 · SOINTULA (250) 973-6741Buyers of · Halibut · FAS Prawns · Fresh Shrimp · Fresh Salmon · Fresh & Frozen Bottom Fish

We are a producer, processor, exporter, wholesaler and distributor of

premium fresh and frozen seafood’s. Our company, founded in 1938, has

over 60 years experience in a wide range of the most popular seafood

items from Canada’s west coast, and the rest of the world.

David McRae at Tsukiji Fish Market Auction.

BY DAVID MCRAE, PACIFIC URCHIN HARVESTERS ASSOCIATION

More and More Product Going Directly to Supermarkets and Restaurants

Fisherman Life Jan 1-38 12/18/03 11:09 AM Page 24