Hatahata Sandfish

ハタハタ

Photos by Tohoku Digital Archive

Historical Background

Hatahata has been eaten for many years in Akita. It is often cooked in shottsuru, one of the fish sources. The hatahata catch used to be over one million tons, but it started to decrease from 1976 onwards. This decrease was due to the change in water temperature in the Japan Sea and the lack of space for the hatahata to lay eggs. Then, hatahata fishing was banned for three years from 1992.

Characteristics

Hatahata has a long and thin body; it is about 25 to 30 cm. Hatahata lives in sand areas in the ocean about 100-400m depth. It is in the sand during the daytime and actively moves during the nighttime. The period when we can get it is very limited from late November to January.

In early December, hatahata come close to the seaside to give birth. Hatahata prefers to give birth on seaweed (akamoku, gibasa). However, due to the over-picking of seaweed and global warming, the number of seaweed in Akita has decreased making it difficult to catch hatahata in Akita. Akita has started to import Hatahata from other prefectures. Hatahata used to be very cheap and it used to be 500 yen per box, but now it is 500 yen per fish.

How to eat

Remove the head
Loosen the meat from the bones
Remove the backbone
Separate the buriko and the meat
Enjoy!

Hatahata caught in December contains a lot of eggs in their stomachs. Since eggs absorb the nutrients, Hatahata in this season do not taste as good as those caught in November.