MATSUE, JAPAN — After a disastrous eight-year stretch that almost left them without a livelihood, the members of the Shinji Lake Fisheries Cooperative Association (SLFCA) have bonded together under the theme of sustainable fishing to ensure long-term success.

“We are the parents of fishing. It is our job to keep the fishing sustainable,” said SLFCA chairman Kaz-uo Watanabe.

Watanabe was speaking at a special briefing hosted for the participants in the 2024 Association for Promotion of International Cooperation Japan Journalism Fellowship on October 4 at the SLFCA offices in Matsue, the capital city of Shimane Prefecture.

Of major importance to the SLFCA is shijimi, otherwise known as the Japanese basket clam, found in the waters of Lake Shinji. As the largest brackish water system in Japan due to its link to Lake Nakaumi, it is able to host a wide variety of both fresh water and sea water aquatic life, several of which are known as the “seven delicacies”. Shijimi is often used in soups.

Soups are a popular cooking method for shijimi for the Japanese.

Shijimi is caught and sorted manually from the floor of Lake Shinji by the SLFCA, who provides 53 per cent of Japan’s domestic supply. They have carefully retained this advantage by strict self-regulation within their membership. These methods begin with limiting the days, hours, and locations that the shijimi can be harvested. For example, the hours have slowly been changed from 1973. Before then there was no restriction on finishing time. Currently it is set at four fishing days a week, with a sunrise start time, and three hours for those using the modern boat harvesting method and four for the fishermen opting for the traditional hand method. Undersized shijimi are automatically returned to the water, and harvesting is capped at 90kgs per day, per fisherman from 2008. This is enforced by fixed-volume holding baskets that are checked on site.

“Violators can’t fish for three months, plus there is a fine,” said Masaki Kuwabara, counsellor — SLFCA.

Their practices have staved off the rapid decline of shijimi. While it has not returned to previous levels, SLFCA’s members have been vigilant and have been working in conjunction with Shimane Prefecture’s Department of Environment and Civic Affairs to ensure the conservation of this important aquatic produce. One such project is a plan to sand fill the edges of the lake to reduce the natural turbulence of the water for a better aquatic ecosystem.

: (From left) Masaki Kuwabara, counsellor — SLFCA, and Hiroyuki Fukuma, public relations leader — SLFCA, demonstrate the manual method of sorting shijimi.

“I am happy about the plan to sand the lake,” said Watanabe.

Lake Shinji is not particularly deep, with a maximum depth of 6.4 metres. Shijimi can be usually harvested up to a distance of 400 metres from the shore. The sand will increase the shallow areas for the clams to grow by Watanabe’s estimate.