TOBA, Mie -- Poor oyster growth in this central Japan city has left farmers without market-ready oysters at the start of the harvesting season, forcing the cancellation of an annual festival as they hope cooler seawater will help the shellfish recover.

Oyster farmers in the Uramuracho district of Toba, Mie Prefecture, an area known for oyster farming, are struggling with poor growth among their Pacific oysters. The October harvesting season has arrived, but the shells remain small, and some oysters have died. The effects are spreading, with the cancellation of the annual "Uramura oyster season opening festival" among them.

Many empty shells

"They're smaller than usual, so we still can't harvest them for shipment," an oyster farmer said with a sigh as he hauled up ropes from a raft on Oct. 8 -- the day the first shipment had been scheduled. Among the small shells, many were visibly open and empty, with no oyster meat inside.

Ounoura Bay in Toba, known as the largest oyster farming area in Mie Prefecture, is dotted with around 1,250 rafts. At this time of year, roughly 50 oyster farming businesses would normally be busy preparing their first shipments. But Naoki Kakuda, 59, a member of the Uramura oyster cooperative, was disheartened.

"The season has started, but we have no oysters ready to ship. The shells are small and the meat is thin. Many of the oysters have died," he explained.

Hope turned to disappointment

In recent years, oyster harvests have been on a downward trend due to rising seawater temperatures. Last season, however, the oysters grew about as well as usual despite damage from a tsunami triggered by an earthquake near Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. Expectations for the first shipments this season were high, partly because the major meander of the Kuroshio Current had come to an end.

Oysters are said to grow as seawater temperatures fall. As he sorted the oysters, Kakuda remained hopeful. He explained, "We put the small ones in baskets and return them to the sea. Once the meat grows larger, we'll be able to serve them to our customers with confidence."

Because of the poor oyster growth, the Uramura oyster season opening festival, scheduled for Oct. 18 in the city, was canceled. The organizing committee expressed its disappointment, saying, "It's a shame because there are people who look forward to it."

(Japanese original by Emi Shimomura, Ise Local Bureau)