Fishermen on Notojima island in the central Japan city of Nanao, Ishikawa, hit by the powerful Noto Peninsula earthquake resumed fishing for cold yellowtail in the early morning of Jan. 10.
At around 2 a.m., four boats departed from Nanao’s Enome fishing port in the eastern part of the island in Ishikawa Prefecture. The fish were hauled out of a fixed net about 2 kilometers offshore.
Many fishing ports on the Noto Peninsula were severely damaged by the Jan. 1 earthquake and tsunami, with breakwaters and quays wrecked, ships sinking and the seabed rising. Although Notojima island was relatively unaffected, some boats were washed up on the road and loading docks collapsed.
There are fishermen who have lost their homes and are living in shelters. Nevertheless, this season’s yellowtail catches have been plentiful, and an ice company in Nanao was able to resume operations after the quake, allowing fishermen to go out to sea for the first time since Dec. 30.
Fishermen returned their boats to the port in high spirits at around 4 a.m., hoisting large-catch flags and landing one yellowtail after another in the rain. The yellowtail caught that day were apparently set to be shipped mainly to the prefectural capital Kanazawa.
Kazuyuki Sakamoto, 40, vice president of a local fisheries firm, said, “Instead of being downcast and feeling depressed, we decided to look to the future and go fishing. I want to show the whole country that people in the affected areas are doing their best. The yellowtail from Noto this season is delicious, and we want as many people as possible to enjoy it.”