Fishing season

It refers to the period suitable for catching useful aquatic organisms, also called "ryoki." It refers to the period during which fishing can actually be done for a set fishery or catch, and is the period during which fishing is legally permitted in fisheries where fishing is prohibited for resource conservation. Aquatic organisms that are the subject of fishing are not caught at the same rate throughout the year, but are often caught in large quantities at certain times. The early period is called the first fishing season, the period when the most is caught is called the peak fishing season, and the end of the fishing season is called the final fishing season. In general, the best fishing season for fish and shellfish is the spawning season, and for seaweed, the breeding season. Also, the fishing season is almost the same every year for each species or fishery, but there are some deviations due to changes in sea conditions. For example, the fishing season for migratory fish varies depending on the region. For example, the fishing season for pacific saury moves south from August in Hokkaido to September and October in the Tohoku region, and November in the Chiba Prefecture to Shizuoka Prefecture region. Also, there are some regions where there are two fishing seasons in one year, one for the northward migration and one for the southward migration, for example, for yellowtail.

[Kiyoshi Yoshiwara]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

有用な水産生物をとるのに適した時期をいい、「りょうき」ともいう。設定されている漁業あるいは漁獲物について、実際に漁獲しうる期間をいい、資源保護のために禁漁期が設定されている漁業では法的に漁獲が認められている期間である。漁獲対象となる水生生物は、一年中同じ割合でとれるわけではなく、ある時期に多量に漁獲されることが多い。その初期を初漁期、もっとも多くとれる時期を盛漁期、漁期の終期を終漁期という。一般に魚貝類は抱卵期が、海藻類は繁殖期が好漁期となる。また、漁期は種類あるいは漁業ごとに毎年ほぼ一定しているが、海況の変動などで多少のずれがある。たとえば回遊性の魚類では、地方によって漁期が異なり、サンマの例では北海道で8月、東北地方で9、10月、千葉県から静岡県地方では11月と漁期が南下する。また、ブリなどのように1年のうちに北上期と南下期の二度漁期となる地方もある。

［吉原喜好］

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