Mr. Murakami belongs to the Oumu-cho Fishery Cooperative Association's Salmon Settlement Committee, and is the helmsman of the Higashihomaru. He is also known as the initiator of the Umaimon Festival held in autumn, and has been energetically engaged in activities to let people in other areas know about the goodness of Omu. Mr. Murakami, who lives in the sea of Okhotsk, talked about his thoughts and way of life.

 

 

Living with the sea, work and life

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―――What kind of work do you do in set net fishing for salmon?
Mr. Murakami: Salmon set net fishing work starts in March when the snow in Okhotsk begins to melt, and we start repairing molds, nets, and ropes in preparation for netting in September. A "form" is a thing to put in the sea and hold down the net. In order to fix the mold, 70 kan (about 262 kg) anchors are loaded into the ship, thrown in, and placed in the designated position in the sea. This work continues for about two weeks after the end of the local festivals in July. It's a tough job in the heat of the sun. The salmon fishing season starts on September 3rd. With the help of fellow fishermen who are catching other species of fish, we cast nets into the sea. As long as the nets are in the sea, he sails almost every day when it is not stormy, and when he returns to the beach where his wives wait, he sorts the salmon. A few years ago, Okhotsk-based flute and guitar couple "Horanero" accompanied me on a salmon fishing trip and inspired me to write a song called "Abari".

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―――What is Abari?
Murakami: Abari is a professional fisherman's tool used to repair nets. The Horanero women said that they felt a strong will to pass on the tradition to the next generation when they saw the strong men of the sea calmly repairing the nets in the spacious workshop. I shot a video of the sound of the engine of the Higashihomaru sailing, the seagull's cry, and the salmon fishing in Okhotsk with Mr. Horaneguchi's song. If you like, read the QR code below with your mobile phone and access the video. Through this video and music, I believe that readers will be able to feel the scenery of our lives and work in Okhotsk.

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Beach work is a family and community united

 

―――What kind of work do you do other than set-net salmon fishing?
Mr. Murakami: I have a job to cultivate young scallops for about two weeks after May 10th and about 10 days after the Bon Festival. At the beginning of May, a seed collector, a tool used for collecting scallop spores used for aquaculture, is put into the sea. At the end of the Obon festival, the seed collector is lifted from the sea, and scallop larvae, which are as small as a pinky fingernail, are placed in a culture basket and returned to the sea. The baskets are then placed in the sea until May of the following year, where they grow in the cradle of the magnificent sea of Okhotsk where ice floes come. At our workplace, about 60 people from Omu-cho and neighboring towns come to help with the young shellfish farming work in May. My wife, my eldest son and eldest daughter, who will be high school students, also go to the beach and work together.

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――Did you have any work to pick sea urchins today?
Mr. Murakami: Right now is the season for sea urchin fishing. Sea urchin fishing is an individual job, but from April to around July 10th, when the weather is not stormy, I go fishing at 5:00 in the morning. My wife peels the sea urchins that I bring, makes overnight pickles, jars them, and sells them.

 

 

I want to leave the rich Sea of Okhotsk made by drift ice and plankton to children.

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――When did Murakami decide to become a fisherman?
Mr. Murakami: I am the second son of three brothers, but since I was in junior high school, I had the feeling that I had to do it myself. I still fish for kelp from mid-July until before the Obon Festival, and since I was a child, my three brothers and I have been helping out with the kelp. Now my wife, mother and children are helping me.

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―――What was the most difficult thing when you became a fisherman?
Mr. Murakami: At first, seasickness was a problem. Looking at the horizon is good for avoiding seasickness, but when you're working on a ship, you can't just look at the horizon. I got used to it in about 3 days (laughs) People seem to unconsciously try to keep their bodies parallel, and working on a ship with unstable footing on a daily basis trains the core of the body. And it seems. When I got on the boat with my child, he said, "Dad, your core is amazing!" My youngest is currently in the 5th grade of elementary school and wants to become a fisherman in the future. I've heard that the Okhotsk sea is closed by ice floes during the winter, but that's helping the recovery of resources. The arrival of drift ice removes weeds and algae, allowing useful and high-quality seaweed such as kelp to grow, enriching fisheries resources such as sea urchins that feed on kelp and crabs that eat small creatures living in seaweed forests. I also hear that. I want to protect the rich Sea of Okhotsk through sustainable fishing for the sake of our children.

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―――How do you spend your days off?
Mr. Murakami: I have a barbecue with my family and friends. You can grill and eat the whelks and kobi that you have caught yourself, and enjoy the seafood that you have caught yourself. The view of Hinode Cape from the house and the sky full of stars are Oumu's favorite scenery.

 

New connections through classic cars

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――What are your hobbies, Mr. Murakami?
Murakami: I like classic cars. So, on my days off, I went to the classic car festivals held in Furano, Asahikawa, and Shikaoi. I made new connections there, and my classic car friends said they wanted to come to Oumu, so we decided to hold it at the same time as the Umaimon Festival. At first, about 60 classic cars gathered from all roads, but now there are over 100. Everyone eats Oumu's delicious food, goes to the hot springs at Hinode Misaki overlooking the Sea of Okhotsk, enjoys Oumu, and comes back the next year. It's really nice to see everyone's happy faces. Please come and visit Okhotsk Obu once. We look forward to!

 

\Who wrote this article/
Yuuko Endo｜Born in Oumu-cho as the only daughter of a family that has been engaged in the fishing industry since the days of her great-grandfather. After living as a student in Kyoto, he worked for three years at Giyosei Hokkaido Branch, a publishing company.