２０１９年のサンマ水揚げ、過去最低　前年の３分の１

　全国さんま棒受網漁業協同組合（東京）は７日、２０１９年の全国のサンマ水揚げ量が前年比６６％減の４万５１７トンだったと発表した。記録が残る中で最低だった１９６９年（約５万２０００トン）も下回った。海水温上昇や外国漁船による公海での漁の活発化が理由とみられ、国際的な漁獲規制強化や資源回復に向けた取り組みが一段と求められそうだ。

　地域別の水揚げ量は、主産地の北海道が６３％減の２万１３６４トン、宮城県が７０％減の９９４３トン、岩手県が６６％減の８０８６トン。不漁の影響で、主産地の市場価格は平均で１キロ当たり３１６円と前年より７割ほど高くなった。（2020/01/07-17:26）

Japan's saury catches hit a record low of 40,517 tons in 2019, down 66 pct from the previous year, an industry body said Tuesday.
   The figure fell below the previous record for the smallest haul set in 1969, at around 52,000 tons, according to the National Saury Fishery Association.
   The drop is thought to reflect rising sea temperatures and a boom in saury fishing by foreign ships on the high seas, possibly prompting international moves to strengthen regulations on catches and promote the recovery of saury stocks.
   Catches off the northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido, the main saury fishing ground, plunged 63 pct to 21,364 tons, and those off Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, both in northeastern Japan, sank 70 pct to 9,943 tons and 66 pct to 8,086 tons, respectively.
   The poor catches led to a spike in saury market prices in the regions, to an average of 316 yen per kilogram, up about 70 pct from 2018.