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Photo: Stockfile/FIS
Record Low Catches and Mass Deaths Trigger Salmon Crisis in Hokkaido
JAPAN
Wednesday, October 08, 2025, 00:10 (GMT + 9)
Abashiri faces potentially the worst chum salmon season since 1994, with catches down 72% and water quality issues severely threatening the future supply of juvenile fish for hatchery programs across Japan.
ABASHIRI, HOKKAIDO – The severe decline in the autumn salmon catch has reached crisis levels on the Okhotsk Sea coast, one of Hokkaido's most crucial fishing grounds.
As of October 6, the fixed-net catches reported by the Abashiri Fisheries Cooperative have plummeted to 251,000 fish, a massive 72% drop compared to the same period last year. It is now considered inevitable that this season's haul will fall significantly short of the previous record low of 1,178,900 fish recorded in 2019, the lowest catch since records began in 1994.
Fishermen are reporting dire financial consequences. The catch deficit has led to fears of "huge deficits" for the industry in the region.
Dual Crisis: Scarcity and Mortality
The crisis is compounded by two factors: low returns and mass mortality events.
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Mass Mortality: In addition to the poor catches, the region has been hit by a mass die-off of salmon, reportedly due to changes in water quality. While the exact local cause is being investigated, the Pacific coast of Hokkaido has been plagued by rising seawater temperatures and a red tide phenomenon, which previously killed large numbers of chum salmon and sea urchin. These environmental changes are believed to be connected to the decline of sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk and warming waters.
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Hatchery Deficit: The scarcity is severely impacting the long-term resource management efforts. Along the Abashiri River, where salmon are captured for artificial breeding programs, the lack of returning parent fish is making it difficult to secure fertilized eggs needed for transfer to other regions. This deficit raises fears of a further overall decline in Hokkaido’s salmon resource volume in the near future.
 Broader Regional Concerns
The struggles in Abashiri mirror a wider crisis across Hokkaido. As of September 20, 2025, the total autumn salmon catch for the coastal waters of Hokkaido had already dropped 18% compared to the same period in 2024, totaling only 1,537,182 fish.
The overall value of catches across the prefecture also fell by 12% to ¥5,480,070,000 (approx. $37.1 million USD). Due to the scarcity, fishing groups in areas like Hidaka have implemented voluntary restrictions, including postponing net setting, to encourage the fish to swim upstream and conserve the spawning stock.
Furthermore, the Hokkaido Regional Fisheries Coordination Committee had already approved a 2025 hatchery release plan earlier in the year that significantly reduced the number of released chum salmon fry by 60 million to 920 million, citing poor adult returns from the previous year. The devastating 2025 autumn season suggests future cuts to these crucial conservation programs are highly likely.
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