The impact of the earthquake was so deep that it badly affected the sales of frozen scallops this season in Japan. China, the biggest buyer of Japanese scallop, is stepping up buying from U.S., Latin America in fear that supply from Japan may decrease. Takashi Kato, a high-ranking official of the Hokkaido Fisheries Federation, presented a report on the production of scallop in Japan.
According to the report the production of scallops in Hokkaido in this season is expected to total 379,000 tons, which will be about 30,000 tons less than the 411,000 tons produced in the previous season. The decrease is primarily ascribed to the projected decline of about 30,000 tons in landings from the Okhotsk Sea.
Japanese scallop might not be distributed in the overseas markets in the aftermath of the nuclear power plant accident, China, a major scallop consumer, is reportedly stepping up procurement of scallops from the U.S. and South American countries in a bid to offset the expected shortfall. The scallop yield in the Okhotsk Sea is expected to decline from the previous season, due to declining production yields for two consecutive years and a trend toward smaller sized scallops.
Production in Tohoku is forecast at 500 tons, although the performance in the main fishing ground in the Mutsu Bay in Aomori Prefecture is still uncertain. Japan’s supply of scallops last year stood at 20,300 tons, about 17,300 tons of which went for domestic consumption and 3,000 tons for exports.
