Rare, brackish water fish ushers in hot summer in southwestern Japan

June 26, 2018

Rare, brackish water fish ushers in hot summer in southwestern Japan

River fishermen living near the mouth of Chikugo River flowing into Ariake Sea, a deep inner bay in southwestern Japan, have busy days catching a rare, brackish water fish from late May to June.
Etsu, the fish so called in Japanese, lives in certain areas in Ariake Sea, their only habitat in Japan.
Dishes of fresh etsu are served at 20 or so Japanese-style restaurants in the lower reaches of Chikugo River. This is because the freshness of the fish declines quickly after catch.
The catch of the fish, a kind of grenadier anchovy, is allowed from May 1 to July 20, while the season for etsu dishes runs from June to early July.
Some restaurants with etsu dishes served are run by etsu fishermen, and these restaurants attract many people loving the local rare cuisine in the season.
"My boss goes for fishing everyday during the season, sometimes alone, sometimes with fellow fishermen," said a young waitress working at a riverside etsu restaurant in Johjima, in the southern part of Fukuoka Prefecture.
"He catches 50 or so fishes, when the tide is good," she said, while looking down at a few etsu drift net boats moored on the river behind the restaurant.
Etsu fishes swim upstream from the sea for spawning early summer, up as far as about 10 kilometers from the river mouth.
Roes spawned there stream down the river, and baby fishes grow up while living deep in the sea. Then, grown fishes go up the river for spawning, and to complete the life cycle, most of them die after that.
Etsu is classified as an endangered species on the Environment Ministry's red data book.
The fish has a leaf-like flat, slender body, which is about 30 centimeters long. The female fish has a swollen belly with roes.
The fish is cooked in various ways -- deep fried, simmered in sweetened soy sauce, boiled and seasoned, and sliced fresh sashimi.
Slicing the etsu fish for sashimi needs a special cooking technique; because it has many small bones contained, the body must be finely sliced with the bones cut. This leaves a crispy taste, the reason why the etsu sashimi is so loved by fans.
The stock of the etsu fish was once threatened with over fishing and changes in the environment due in part to the construction of dams upstream in Chikugo River.
Because catches of the etsu continued to decline from around the 1980s, groups of local fishermen have tried to improve the environment for its habitat, but the situation is yet to be fully improved.
Local people involved hold a service every year for the rare brackish water fish on May 1, when the ban on its catch is lifted. Further efforts to preserve the environment for coexistence of the fish and the community are expected to continue so that the unique food culture may be maintained over years.