Pacific saury, long regarded as the fish that defines autumn in Japan, has become a scarce commodity after a sharp drop in catches. Restaurants are cutting back on the number of outlets serving the fish, while supermarkets are filling the gap with frozen products.
Japanese set-meal chain Ootoya will offer its seasonal "charcoal-grilled fresh saury set" at only about 200 outlets this autumn, or roughly 60% of its total locations, the Nikkei reported on the 23rd. It is the first time since 2020 that the chain has scaled back sales because of difficulty securing saury.
The dish uses saury shipped from Hokkaido and other fishing regions. It is priced at 1,450 yen (about 12,200 won).
With catches down sharply this year, Ootoya had not decided as late as early last month whether to put the item on the menu at all. It eventually secured part of the volume it needed and began selling the dish late last month.
A company official said supplies arrive irregularly and the dish sometimes sells out early in the day.
Catch Down 80% in a Year, With Sardines Filling In at Restaurants
The shortage is also squeezing margins across the dining industry.
Sakura Suisan, an izakaya chain specializing in seafood, said its purchase price for saury has risen to 2.5 times the level of a year earlier. The company had expected prices to stabilize by the time it began selling saury dishes and left its menu prices unchanged. With costs staying high, it is now feeling pressure on profitability.
Since this month it has sold 10 pieces of saury sushi for 1,500 yen (about 12,600 won), but on days when it cannot secure supplies it substitutes other fish such as sardines.
The decline in Japan's saury catch has been steep. According to the Japan Fisheries Information Service Center, landings nationwide in August and September this year came to just 5,522 tons on a preliminary basis, down 80% from the same period a year earlier.
Last year's annual catch was also only 65,000 tons, less than a fifth of the level in 2008, when catches last peaked.
Experts point to changes in the marine environment and fishing that has outpaced the available stock. Shinichiro Nakayama, a senior researcher at the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, said the saury population is at a low level and that catch quotas must be cut further to rebuild the stock quickly.
Prices Up, Fish Smaller, and Supermarkets Turning to Frozen Saury
With supplies unstable, more restaurant operators are turning to frozen fish caught last year.
Yayoiken, a Japanese set-meal chain, has used frozen saury on its menu since around 2020. Operator Plenus said catch volumes and prices are too unstable to build a reliable sales plan around fish caught in the same year.
Supermarkets face the same problem. Aeon Retail, which operates general merchandise stores in Japan, said its saury purchases this year fell 70% from a year earlier.
Retail prices have risen 50%, yet the fish are smaller. The company is offering fresh salmon, autumn bonito and eel as substitutes for the saury it cannot obtain.
At supermarket chain Yaoko, two fresh saury sell for 600 to 700 yen (about 5,000 to 5,900 won). As prices climb, the chain is also expanding sales of thawed frozen saury.
Frozen Saury Returns to Autumn Festival After Nine Years as Next Year's Supply Looks Uncertain
The poor catch was evident at Japan's autumn festivals as well. At the Meguro Saury Festival held in Tokyo on the 11th, grilled fish was made from frozen saury caught last year rather than fresh fish landed this season. It was the first time in nine years that the festival used frozen saury.
Kakutaro Umetsu, chairman of the festival's organizing committee, said this year's saury are thin-bodied and that last year's catch is better in terms of quality.
In Japan, saury is treated as a food that defines the season, much as gizzard shad is in autumn in South Korea. A proverb holds that "when saury appears, the masseur retreats," reflecting its reputation as a nutritious seasonal fish.
But with catches falling sharply, fresh saury is becoming harder to find on autumn tables. This year the shortfall is being covered with frozen stock secured earlier, though there is concern that the weak catch could also affect supplies next year.