From Nachikatsuura, Wakayama Prefecture, delivering "Japan's Best Fresh Tuna" nationwide and supporting fishermen who uphold sustainable "longline fishing"!

Our foundation endorses April Dream, an initiative to make April 1st a day for announcing dreams. This press release represents the dream of the Sawakami Foundation.

New Service "Fresh Tuna Emergency Spot Sale"

Starting in 2026, the "Sawakami Fresh Tuna Direct Sales Club" (operated by the Sawakami Foundation, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) has launched a new service called "Fresh Tuna Emergency Spot Sale" to prevent tuna price collapses due to localized abundant catches and to support sustainable fishing.

This new service is an initiative to support the fishermen of Nachikatsuura who adhere to the sustainable "longline fishing" method. When an abundant catch causes tuna prices to be driven down, the club collaborates with conscientious intermediate wholesalers to buy up the tuna, thereby stabilizing prices.

*HP: https://sawakami-maguro.easy-myshop.jp/

### The Day Tuna Might Disappear

Currently, marine resources are being depleted worldwide. Tuna is no exception, with several species, including bluefin tuna, being designated as endangered due to years of overfishing. As the world's largest consumer of tuna, Japan must address this issue.

### "Purse Seine Fishing" Leading to Overfishing

Tuna fishing primarily involves "purse seine fishing" and "longline fishing." "Purse seine fishing" is a method where fish schools are encircled and hauled in all at once. While extremely efficient for catching large quantities at once, it risks depleting marine resources by catching everything, including juveniles and spawning females.

### Environmentally Friendly "Longline Fishing"

In contrast, "longline fishing" is a method where many branch lines with hooks are suspended from a single long main line, and fishermen wait for tuna to bite. Only a small fraction (a few percent) of the school is caught. Small tuna do not get caught on the hooks, and spawning mother tuna do not eat bait, so they are generally not caught by longline fishing. This is an environmentally friendly fishing method born in Japan.

<Shift from Quantity to Quality>

Amidst this, Nachikatsuura Fishing Port has completely prohibited the entry of "purse seine fishing vessels" since 1981, and most of the tuna landed there is caught by "longline fishing." Longline-caught tuna is less prone to physical damage than purse-seine caught tuna, and because each fish is brought onto the boat individually, careful ikejime (a method of paralyzing fish to maintain freshness) can be performed. This preserves freshness, resulting in very high-quality tuna.

Although longline fishing is less efficient than purse seine fishing, making management not easy, the port has shifted its focus to "quality over quantity," prioritizing the future over immediate profit.

<Japan's No. 1 Port for "Fresh Tuna">

Furthermore, Nachikatsuura Fishing Port lands all its tuna "fresh." "Fresh tuna" does not simply mean "uncooked tuna," but rather "tuna that has never been frozen."

"Fresh tuna" has a chewy texture and the inherent umami of tuna, differing so significantly from "thawed tuna" found in supermarkets that they seem like different species. *When fish is frozen, its cells are damaged, and umami flows out upon thawing.

Nachikatsuura Fishing Port boasts the highest volume of fresh tuna landings in Japan! This is a testament to the fact that they only handle tuna caught in nearby waters, not distant oceans, and to the efforts of fishermen who carefully perform ikejime on each individual tuna before landing.

<Recommended Way to Eat?>

Slice the sashimi a little thicker, dip it generously in soy sauce with plenty of chili powder, and boldly place it on hot rice for a hearty bite! This is a unique local way to enjoy tuna without compromising its natural aroma.

While fatty bluefin tuna offers a rich flavor, the yellowfin and bigeye tuna from Nachikatsuura have a refreshing umami that makes them endlessly enjoyable. We highly recommend fish lovers try them at least once!

What is "Emergency Spot Sale"?

Our club is a membership-based online shop. We receive orders from members who resonate with the significance of our activities and ship tuna from Nachikatsuura once a month on a fixed day.

The newly launched "Emergency Spot Sale" further develops this initiative, providing a mechanism to more directly prevent tuna price collapses.

1. If high-quality tuna experiences a price collapse in Nachikatsuura, our local intermediate wholesaler partner, Yamasa Wakiguchi Suisan, will bid for and purchase the tuna. 2. Upon receiving notification from Wakiguchi Suisan, we send out a mass email to all members, announcing the emergency spot sale. 3. Orders are closed within a few days, and fresh tuna is shipped nationwide from Nachikatsuura. 4. The arrived tuna can be enjoyed deliciously for about 3-4 days if stored as a block (or an additional day if marinated).

No Future for Consumers Without a Future for Primary Industries

Currently, tuna prices in Nachikatsuura are plummeting significantly. Despite high-quality tuna being landed due to abundant catches, it is being bought at low prices simply because "there is a lot of it."

This is by no means "good news because of an abundant catch." We feel a strong sense of crisis regarding the current situation where the efforts of fishermen who risk their lives at sea are being undervalued.

Now is the time for the "Sawakami Fresh Tuna Direct Sales Club" to show its true value.

Your choice will support the livelihoods of the fishermen in Nachikatsuura who have honestly continued "longline fishing," and will contribute to a future that addresses successor shortages, aging fishing vessels, and the protection of tuna resources. We hope you will take this opportunity to "eat and support" the production area and the fishing industry while enjoying the highest quality fresh tuna at an affordable price.

**[Order and Member Registration Here]**

https://sawakami-maguro.easy-myshop.jp/

<u>Business Manager Profile</u>

### Yuki Matsumura, Director, Sawakami Foundation

Born in Chiba in 1996. After graduating from university, joined the Sawakami Foundation as a competitive swimmer employee. Retired in 2024. After 25 years of competitive swimming, he now serves as the head of the Sawakami Fresh Tuna Direct Sales Club. He is dedicated to thinking about a bright future for the tuna industry with "passion" and "ambition."