[Nemuro City, 15th Archyde.com]–Mr. Tsuruyuki Iisaku (79) was detained in a camp in the former Soviet Union for nearly a year shortly after graduating from high school. He was captured while fishing for cod around the northern territories (Russian name: Kuril Islands), which was effectively controlled by the former Soviet Union and Japan also claims territorial rights.
Mr. Iisaku, who was taken to his hometown of Shitanjima, was sent to a camp in Sakhalin and welcomed an adult while working to mine limestone. In September 1963, he returned to Nemuro, Hokkaido.
About 60 years later, even now, when the Soviet Union collapsed and became Russia, Mr. Iisaku, who runs a fishing industry, is still worried about the movement of Moscow. This is because the relationship between Japan and Russia has cooled over the situation in Ukraine, and the whereabouts of the fishing negotiations held at this time of year are uncertain.
On the cold morning of April 12, when the fog was pouring in, several fishing boats were left unloaded at Habomai Port in Nemuro. Normally, they are sent off by their families and go out for salmon and trout drift net fishing, but negotiations on operating conditions such as catch have not been concluded with Russia, and they are unable to fish.
“After the war, even if there were various problems with Russia, only the fishing industry has continued for a long time. This has never happened,” says Mr. Iisaku.
There are four annual fishing negotiations between Japan and Russia, and the top batter is talks to catch salmon and trout returning to the Amur River in Japan’s 200 nautical mile waters. Fisheries officials are paying close attention to the remaining negotiations, such as kelp fishing on the Habomai Islands and saury fishing operating in Russian waters.
The Japanese and Russian governments finally started discussions on April 11, one day after the fishing ban was lifted, but no agreement was reached as of the 15th. Agriculture Minister Genjiro Kaneko said at the House of Councilors plenary session that day, “I would like to negotiate firmly to ensure operating conditions that are acceptable to Japanese fishermen.”
Before the end of World War II, Nemuro was integrated with the four northern islands, and many people make a living through this area even after Russia came into effective control after the war. Including the marine product processing industry, about 40% of the workers are engaged in the fishery industry.
Russia is familiar in every aspect, with Russian signboards everywhere. When Russia conducted a military exercise on Kunashir Island the other day, sparks were seen from the city and it felt shaking. Russian fishing boats still carry sea urchins to the fishing port. Russian trends have a direct impact on the city’s economy and the lives of its citizens.
Shigeto Hinuma (71), who runs a fresh fish store in the city, once caught crabs, but the former Soviet Union set up a 200-kairi fishing area in 1976 and was unable to fish, so he stopped fishing. When salmon and trout drift net fishing was banned within 200 nautical miles in Russia in 2015, it became impossible to sell red salmon, which affected the sales of the store.
“The biggest concern is that all four negotiations will be ruined,” said Mr. Hinuma, “when the new corona (virus epidemic) lasts for two years and the seventh wave is coming or not, Ukraine. I have a problem. I watch the news on TV every day and I wonder what will happen. “
The salmon and trout fishing season is until June. According to Mr. Hinuma, fishermen will lose 60 to 70 million yen in income if the negotiations are not concluded. The salmon sold at Mr. Hinuma’s shop is about 9000 yen per salmon, and if 50 salmon are sold a day, all the sales will be lost.
The population of the city, which was 45,000 in 1970, has decreased to 24,000. Due to changes in the Russian fishing policy, the catch has decreased, the number of fishermen who are going out of business has increased, and the number of young people’s jobs has decreased. “If you can’t fish, you won’t be able to live here, you’ll be out of business. Soon (population) will be 20,000,” says Iisaku, who had been captured by the former Soviet Union.
After returning to Japan, Mr. Iisaku continued fishing and went to Moscow many times as a representative of fishery officials, but salmon and trout were profitable when drift net fishing was banned in Russian waters. lost. Since 2016, he has been sailing for saury fishing.
Negotiations for this year’s Pacific saury fishing, which begins in August, have already been concluded before the invasion of Ukraine, but a permit to enter the Russian waters has not yet been issued. Negotiations for next season are also unclear.
“Nemuro is a core industry for fishing and fisheries, so without it, it would be worthless to be in Nemuro,” says Mr. Iisaku. “Culture is gone. There is no culture where it doesn’t prosper.”
(Daniel Leussink coverage cooperation: Yoshifumi Takemoto, Nobuhiro Kubo Editing: Hiroshi Hashimoto, Masaran Kim)