Pacific saury undergoing breeding trials in the development center's onshore tanks

Maruha Nichiro and Aquamarine Fukushima Achieve World's First Pacific Saury Aquaculture

JAPAN
Thursday, September 11, 2025, 06:00 (GMT + 9)

As wild catches decline, this groundbreaking project offers a new solution to bring the popular fish back to Japanese dinner tables.

A collaborative effort between major food company Maruha Nichiro and the Fukushima Marine Science Museum, Aquamarine Fukushima, has led to a groundbreaking success in the commercial-level trial of Pacific saury aquaculture. This achievement is a significant breakthrough for the industry, as saury is notoriously difficult to farm due to its fragile scales and highly nervous nature.

Pacific saury eggs transported from the Fukushima Marine Science Museum

Pioneering Aquaculture Technology

The project was born from Aquamarine Fukushima's long-standing expertise in rearing difficult-to-handle fish. The aquarium, which has been successfully breeding saury in a tank since 1998, has managed to continue this success for up to eight generations. This experience proved invaluable to Maruha Nichiro. The two organizations began their trial in October 2021, with Aquamarine Fukushima providing the expertise in temperature control, feeding, and ecological research.

This collaborative research led to two major milestones:

• In June 2022, the team successfully raised saury to a marketable size of over 100 grams.

• Just two months later, they achieved successful artificial insemination.

Shinya Yamauchi (51), a curator at Aquamarine Fukushima and the project leader for saury breeding, expressed his relief and joy, stating that the research his team had conducted for over 20 years was finally able to contribute to society.

Addressing a Crisis in the Saury Industry

This development comes at a critical time for the Japanese fishing industry. The Pacific saury population has faced a sharp decline, with catches plummeting in recent years. According to the National Sanma Pole Net Fisheries Cooperative (Zensanma), the total catch, which was 193,425 tons in 2010, fell to a mere 38,695 tons in 2012. This scarcity has dramatically increased prices, turning the once-common fish into a luxury item. Maruha Nichiro reported that the wholesale price rose nearly tenfold from 65 yen per kg in 2008 to 621 yen in 2021.

To combat this decline, Maruha Nichiro established its Aquaculture Technology Development Center in Minamisatsuma City, Kagoshima Prefecture, in 2020. While the center has been focusing on farmed fish like bluefin tuna, yellowtail, and amberjack, the success of the saury project offers a new and promising path toward a stable supply.

The companies hope to make this achievement widely known to the public, particularly in Fukushima and Iwaki, and are committed to bringing fresh, farmed saury to dinner tables as soon as possible. This collaborative effort not only provides a solution to the supply crisis but also showcases the power of research and innovation in ensuring the sustainability of marine resources.

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