Hobikiami Sail Trawling in Japan

Sail trawling of Hobikiami fishing consists of a boat drifting sideways downwind while towing a net. This picturesque fishing method was invented about 100 years ago as a means to reduce the then labor‐intensive methods. Hobikiami trawling is analogous to flying a kite wherein kite, tail of kite, and man correspond to sail, boat, and net respectively. This technique while undergoing many modifications has remained endemic to its area of origin, Lake Kasumigaura and nearby Lake Kitaura, central Japan, because of particular requirements of the wind. The wind must be approximately parallel to the long axis of the lake, and of moderate strength and frequency during the fishing season from July through December. Diesel trawlers, which are largely independent of the weather, have replaced Hobikiami fishing on Lake Kasumigaura. Today, Hobikiami fishing is maintained on a small scale on Lake Kitaura. It is carried out by parttime fishermen‐farmers who live beside the lake. Unless Hobikiami fishing can be established as a tourist attraction it will likely disappear because of changing family structures, economics, and eutrophication of the lake. The principal species caught are pond smelt and Japanese whitebait, two relatively valuable fish species. These species are processed in lakeside factories in a variety of specialized products that are marketed throughout much of central Japan during autumn and winter festivals.