Fatty 'katsuo' fish may foreshadow climate change, threat to Japan's sushi

NAKATOSA, Japan - For half a century, Takeo Nakajo has been catching katsuo, or skipjack tuna - indispensable in Japanese cuisine whether eaten raw, dried or used as a base for the broth.

"The fatty katsuo must have something to do with the water temperature," said the 70-year-old Nakajo. "I have a sense of urgency thinking what if katsuo doesn't come to the bay some day." Originally from tropical waters, some Pacific katsuo migrate northward on a warm ocean current every spring, making Kochi's arc-shaped bay a fertile fishing ground.

This comes as Japan's ageing population is threatening the sustainability of local fishing and related businesses such as the production of dried and fermented katsuo, and wasabi horseradish - an eye-watering condiment tucked under fish in a piece of sushi. "A growing number of people fear we may no longer be able to eat katsuo in the near future if things continue like this."Production of katsuobushi, dried and fermented katsuo, often used as a shaved condiment over traditional Japanese dishes or as a broth base, is already suffering.

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Fatty 'katsuo' fish may foreshadow climate change, threat to Japan's sushiNAKATOSA, Japan: For half a century, Takeo Nakajo has been catching katsuo, or skipjack tuna - indispensable in Japanese cuisine whether eaten raw, dried or used as a base for the broth. But he and other fishermen in Kure, in Kochi prefecture in southwest Japan, have seen something worrying in the past two
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