Japanese Traditional Culture

Filleted horse mackerel is from Korea, and Atka mackerel is from the US - Imported fish are becoming more prevalent as raw materials for dried fish

Daigo Kawamoto, Director of the Fisheries Department at Jiji Press

Horse mackerel filleted with dried fish. It is often made using ingredients from overseas, mainly Korea, as well as from Nagasaki Prefecture.
Tsukiji Outer Market, Chuo Ward, Tokyo, May 30, 2024 [Jiji Press]

Dried fish, a traditional Japanese food, is gradually being made more and more from overseas. Dried fish is produced by seafood processors all over the country, but the catch of fish that was once abundant locally is decreasing, making it difficult to secure raw materials, and the use of imported fish is on the rise.

◇ 70% of raw materials are imported from Korea and other countries

Yamayasu, a processing company in Odawara City, Kanagawa Prefecture, a famous production area for dried fish, has been making filleted horse mackerel for a long time. However, since it is no longer possible to procure horse mackerel from nearby fishing ports, "imported ingredients, mainly from Korea, but also from Northern Europe, now account for nearly 70% of the production."

Numazu City in Shizuoka Prefecture is also highly dependent on imported ingredients. According to a processor in the city, "There is very little horse mackerel caught locally. It is impossible to consistently purchase high-quality horse mackerel." In search of ingredients suitable for domestic dried fish, the processor deals in horse mackerel caught at fishing ports as far away as Nagasaki Prefecture, but still cannot secure enough ingredients, so the processor says, "In addition to horse mackerel from the Netherlands and Ireland, in recent years we often purchase horse mackerel from Korea."

◇Bunka boshi is Norwegian mackerel

Dried mackerel is also mainly imported from overseas. According to Maruyasu, a fishery processing company in Choshi City, Chiba Prefecture, the main mackerel production area, the raw material for the "culture-dried" mackerel, which is dried using a dryer, "because the landing of the Choshi Port is unstable, we have been using mackerel from Norway for quite some time." The company has used mackerel that was landed in Choshi more than a dozen years ago, but was unable to continue purchasing it due to the lack of quality and quantity suitable for processing. "We looked for mackerel from other places in Japan but could not find any, so we have been making culture-dried mackerel from Norway for a long time," they said.

Due to the sudden depreciation of the yen, the purchase price has risen. Nevertheless, Maruyasu explains that "Norwegian mackerel meets all the requirements for making good dried fish, such as being available in sufficient quantities and being rich in fat." It seems that domestic raw materials are no longer sufficient to stably produce high-quality dried mackerel.

◇American Atka Mackerel is Surging in Popularity

According to Marusen Chiyoda Suisan, a wholesaler specializing in processed foods in Toyosu Market (Koto Ward, Tokyo), the kitchen of the capital region, in addition to horse mackerel and mackerel, foreign-sourced Atka mackerel is prominent among the fish that are filleted and dried. In the past, domestic Mahokke was the norm for Atka mackerel, with American-sourced Shima Atka "there was a time when it was watery and unpopular." However, the company reveals that "recently, it has become popular because it is easy to eat when grilled and the flesh comes off easily, and it is fatty and delicious, so we are receiving a steady stream of orders from restaurants, especially izakayas." As a result, Shima Atka mackerel, not Mahokke, has become the norm when it comes to Atka mackerel.

Additionally, according to the company, "There is little domestically produced dried shishamo, so we use fish from Norway and Iceland. Although there is little domestic sandfish and barracuda, there are no alternative foreign ingredients, so they are in short supply."

◇Imported ingredients preserve traditional flavors

While the use of imported fish as raw materials for dried fish is increasing, there seems to be no need to use imported fish for dried fish such as sashimi (eye-skewered fish) made from anchovies, dried sardines, dried whitebait, and "kusaya" (dried fish) made from horse mackerel, because there is sufficient domestic raw material.

Processed seafood products are required to display the location of the manufacturer (processor) as well as the country of origin of the ingredients, so when buying dried fish, you can check the label to see if it uses imported fish. Even if a product is labeled "Processed in Odawara" or "Processed in Choshi," cases where the ingredients are from overseas are likely to continue to increase.

Due to the weak yen and the growing demand for fish worldwide, Japan is no longer in an environment where it is easy to import fish cheaply. Processors in various regions used to produce dried fish as a preserved food using local fish, but the situation has changed dramatically. They continue to preserve traditional methods by making the most of imported fish and producing their proud dried fish.

▼From the Jiji.com News series "Big Catch! Fisheries Director's Fish Topics"