Japanese consumers used to rely on imports mainly from northern Europe and Chile to get salmon on their tables.

Farmed salmon is said to be more popular than tuna in conveyor belt sushi restaurants.

Unlike the large-scale farming operations of large corporations, salmon farming in these areas is often run by local fishermen and communities.

Growing brands include Kohaku salmon from Iwate Prefecture and Aoimori Kurenai salmon and Kaikyo salmon from Aomori Prefecture.

Aoimori Kurenai salmon, with its low-fat but rich and slightly sweet taste, is farmed in freshwater by the Domestic Water Research Department of Aomori Prefectural Industrial Technology Research Center (AITC) in Towada.

AITC has been creating “a unique breed of salmon raised in Aomori” for about 16 years. There are 25 possible crossing combinations to create a new variant.

The offspring of a rainbow trout and a Japanese hucho were not palatable, so the AITC decided to use a cross between the rainbow trout, which has been farmed in Aomori for more than 100 years, and the Donaldson rainbow trout.

Garlic, a local specialty of Aomori, was originally used as a spice for salmon but had an overpowering aroma. Instead, apples are mixed into the feed, giving the fish a darker and milder flavor with a slight sweetness.

Aoimori Kurenai Salmon was launched in 2020 and sold 5 tons. Deliveries will reach 12 tons in 2021. The product is in such high demand that Aoimori Kurenai salmon remains in short supply in the market.

Japanese consumers are probably most familiar with chum salmon, but (non-migratory) trout species belong to the same family within the same genus.

Six to seven species are found in Japan, including chum, coho, pink salmon, and rainbow trout.

Wild salmon is not usually eaten raw because of the risk of parasitic infections. And farmed coho salmon is served cooked in most cases. But rainbow trout and cherry salmon are farmed to be eaten raw.

Shipments of farmed salmon have surpassed the global catch of wild salmon 25 years ago. About 70% of the 300,000 tons of salmon exported to the Japanese market each year comes from fish farms.

In the 1970s in Japan, coho salmon farming became popular in Miyagi Prefecture. At that time, fish was often prepared as a cooked dish.

Japan Salmon Farm Inc., based in Aomori Prefecture, first introduced the tough-fleshed rainbow trout in hopes of making a big profit due to the increasing demand for farmed salmon that can be eaten raw.

The Japanese salmon farm has managed to mass-produce rainbow trout called Aomori Salmon in the market. Smaller farms run by local fishermen and communities have recently sprung up, further boosting the salmon farming industry in Aomori Prefecture.

Fishermen in the Ohatamachi district of Mutsu, Aomori Prefecture, which is on the Tsugaru Strait, began making the “shift from fishing to farming” in 1989 to promote salmon farming. Squid fishermen struggling with the decline in natural squid have formed a salmon farming group to secure a new source of income.

Donaldson and steelhead rainbow trout are now kept for about six months before release. The precarious sea waves there are said to produce tough meat and high-quality salty fats in the fish.

The upstream fish farm was destroyed by a storm. Fluctuating water temperatures have also killed farmed fish. Despite the setbacks, salmon production has reached 100 tons and the oil has been sold to consumers online.

After the product was featured as Kaikyo salmon in a TV show, sales reached 116 million yen (US$1 million) in 2020.

Fresh Kaikyo salmon is only available from April to July, but prepared fish products such as vacuum-packed slices and sashimi are also available at retail.

In the coastal areas of Iwate Prefecture, large-scale salmon farming began due to a decline in wild salmon catches. In 2020 it will be only 2% of the 1996 level.

Unlike Miyagi Prefecture, coho salmon in Iwate Prefecture can be farmed and transported until August due to the lower water temperature. Farmers in Iwate are taking advantage of this.

In Kuji, where kohaku salmon is produced, the city’s fisheries association began farming the coho, which “grows in Kuji,” in 2019.

Last November, 340,000 juvenile fish were caged, with a goal of quadrupling shipments of Kohaku salmon this year to 600 tons.

Elsewhere in Iwate Prefecture, fishing cooperatives in Miyako and Otsuchi have acquired salmon farming rights.

The University of Iwate, a seafood producer and fishermen’s association in Kamaishi, has started experimental breeding of cherry salmon. Cultivation projects are also being considered in Yamada and Ofunato.

Some locals describe the competition as a “regional war”.

Yutaka Maeda, Department Manager of Fish Farming Technology at AITC Freshwater Research Department, was involved in the development of the Aoimori Kurenai Salmon brand salmon.

One feature of farmed salmon, he said, is that farmers can “imagine farming methods” to differentiate their products from other brands.

“For example, the quality of the fat can change with different water temperatures in the culture,” says Maeda.

Hiroshi Tsuruoka, head of the agricultural business promotion department at Nippon Suisan Group, known for its food brand Nissui, said he has been involved in salmon farming for a long time.

“Demand for salmon has been relatively stable, and this fish has ranked first in popularity at conveyor belt sushi restaurants, ahead of tuna,” Tsuruoka said.