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On April 15, 2024, the first herring spawn in 70 years was observed on Teuri Island, Hokkaido. The islanders were excited to photograph and then harvest the herring. At an island inn, stewed herring and herring roe were served. No one on the island today knows what it was like in the heyday of the herring harvest.
Here is some of the wildlife we observed on Teuri Island in the spring.
On the route from Haboro Port to Teuri Island, black-throated divers (surprisingly common), ancient murrelets, rhinoceros auklets, and spectacled guillemots were seen.
Eight species of seabirds breed on Teuri Island: the common guillemot, spectacled guillemot, rhinoceros auklet, black-tailed gull, slaty-backed gull, Japanese cormorant (Temminck’s cormorant), pelagic cormorant, and ancient murrelet. By April, they have already begun their breeding season.
Black-tailed gulls are breeding and expanding their territory on the Kurosaki coast, and around April 20, mating (or pseudo-mating) has already started taking place throughout the area.
When I looked at the Japanese cormorant breeding site from the seabird observation hut, they were already feeding their chicks. The Japanese cormorant is a seabird that starts breeding early, and it seems to be getting even earlier. Slaty-backed gulls were breeding and mating on the upper slope of the bluff. There were many rhinoceros auklet nesting sites in this area as well.
Red-breasted mergansers are seen near Maehama Fishing Port. Red-breasted mergansers migrate to Teuri Island as winter visitors. They will soon be heading north as well.
And then there are the harlequin ducks. They are the most common ducks on Teuri Island. I often saw them near Maehama Fishing Port and Lombaba Beach. Harlequin ducks can be seen all year round on Teuri Island, but they are definitely easier to see—and more beautiful—during the winter months.
On one morning when the wind had calmed a bit, we went out to the sea on the Keimafuri-Gou, a small boat operated by island photographer Takaki Terasawa. The view from the boat was that of Teuri Island in spring!
A steller sea lion we met as soon as we left the harbor. They migrate to Hokkaido from the Kuril Islands in winter. This young male was all alone. Teuri Island, where herring now spawn, attracts wildlife as well as people. It is a symbol of the richness of the sea.
From the boat, we observed the black-tailed gull breeding grounds on the Kurosaki coast and then headed in the direction of Akaiwa. We did not see any common guillemots at the breeding site, but we did see four common guillemots flying over the sea in the vicinity.
The reef was teeming with some very dry and fluffy spotted seals.
The beautiful sound of spectacled guillemots chirping at each other echoes out to sea. On a rocky shore, an adorable pair is seen in a courtship gesture.
Lastly, please take a look at this herring spawn, photographed on April 15 by the staff of Saiyu Travel’s Teuri Office (Teuri Island Naturelive).
Spawning occurs in spring, when females lay their eggs on seaweed in shallow waters less than one meter deep, and males release sperm to fertilize the eggs. This spawning causes the seawater to become white and murky.
A herring dish served at the Yorozuya Ryokan（ 萬谷旅館）where I stayed. The fresh herring was so tasty.
I myself had just returned from a trip to Sitka, Alaska, in search of the wildlife that gathers there during the herring spawn. In Alaska, the “Herring Run” is a very popular wildlife tour where you can encounter humpback whales, gray whales, bald eagles, steller sea lions, and other creatures that congregate in the waters of Sitka.
Will Japan’s herring spawn one day be referred to as Hokkaido’s “Herring Run”? Before that, it is important to first restore the richness of the sea where herring come to spawn every year. I sincerely hope that the herring will return next year too.
Image & Text: Mariko SAWADA & Midori KUDO
Observation: April 2024, Teuri Island, Hokkaido
Photo & text : Mariko SAWADA
Photography of Herring spawning : Midori KUDO
★ Visit our web site of TEURI ISLAND. ☜
★Contact us to make arrangements for photographing seabirds on Teuri Island and Wildlife of Japan.
★Wildlife videos are also available on Youtube – we have the playlist as well.
