Japan’s Maruha Nichiro Succeeds in Farming Saury

Tokyo, Nov. 11 (Jiji Press)–Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiro Corp. has succeeded in farming saury from eggs to a size suitable for consumption, paving the way for commercializing the cultured autumn delicacy instead of relying solely on wild catches as is currently the case. With poor wild catches continuing in recent years, the company will seek to expand production of saury to help ensure stable supplies. It started testing saury farming in October 2023 at its affiliate Maruha Nichiro Aquaculture Technology Development Center in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, feeding fish artificially hatched from eggs in an onshore water tank. Through the trial, Maruha Nichiro became capable of raising saury until they weigh 100 grams or more per head, large enough to be shipped to market, in about half a year. Wild saury catches have been extremely small in recent years. Catches increased in the early phase of the current fishing season, but they have not recovered strongly. “We’ve found that it could be possible to achieve a stable supply of saury, which is rooted in Japanese food culture, by farming it,” senior center official Gaku Kikuchi said. If saury can be mass-produced, Maruha Nichiro would be able to offer the fish to the market not only to help make up for poor wild catches when it is in season but also throughout the year, according to Kikuchi. The center’s saury farming test was conducted with the cooperation of the Fukushima Marine Science Museum, better known as Aquamarine Fukushima, in Fukushima Prefecture, northeastern Japan, the only aquarium in the world to exhibit artificially grown saury live. The museum, which has displayed farmed saury for over 20 years, provided the Maruha Nichiro side with the saury eggs and advice on cultivation techniques. “I’m happy we were able to utilize our cultivation skills accumulated for the purpose of exhibition also for aquaculture,” museum curator Shinya Yamauchi said. Saury aquaculture had failed to advance in the private sector due to the difficulty of raising the fish, which are sensitive to external stimuli such as light, and have scales that easily peel off. “Delicate management is necessary,” Kikuchi said. Maruha Nichiro grew the fish while searching for appropriate breeding conditions, including water temperature and feed type, and using its tuna and yellowtail farming technology and know-how. While the company is still conducting research on the meat quality of cultured saury, Kikuchi said that artificially raised saury “have a distinct taste of saury in addition to the fattiness unique to farmed fish.” “We hope to offer it also for raw consumption, including as sashimi,” he added. A Maruha Nichiro public relations official said the company aims to commercialize farmed saury in a few years, after selecting aquaculture facilities and reducing costs to scale up production. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]