Thoughts passed down for half a century
"A story of men who love the sea, shellfish, and pearls"
There are men who have shared joys and sorrows with shellfish for 50 years.
These are the fishermen of Yamashita-Pearl (formerly Yamashita Pearl) in Uwajima, Ehime.
"Everything begins with the ocean. We should be grateful to the ocean."
With the words of founder Ryoichi Yamashita in their hearts, they continue to remain grateful for the ocean.
Mornings at the pearl farm start at dawn.
The first thing to do is to check the state of the sea.
The mother oyster that grows pearls is very delicate.
They are sensitive to changes in seawater temperature, increases and decreases in plankton, and seawater pollution.
Fishermen who watch over the sea and raise shellfish are forced to deal with human forces, such as high water temperatures in the summer, large numbers of plankton that are unsuitable for akoya shellfish, and turbulence (rough seas due to bad weather) and low water temperatures in the winter. They are fighting day and night to protect the mother molluscs as much as possible from the harsh and unmanageable natural environment.
After overcoming these challenges, only about half of the mother oysters purchased can be brought to shore as current (one-year) pearls . When it comes to Coshimono(2 year old) pearls, the number decreases to around 30% to 40%.
That's why Ryoichi Yamashita always taught fishermen to be grateful for the sea.
In addition , the fishing ground used by Yamashita-Pearl, Kushimaura in the Uwa Sea, is recognized by everyone as the best fishing ground, with plenty of food (phytoplankton) and living creatures.
What makes this wonderful fishing ground is the rich natural environment surrounding the Uwa Sea. The inflow of tides from the Pacific Ocean and the continental shelf, as well as the nutrient-rich, pure water flowing from the mountains, create the perfect environment for pearl farming.
However, in recent years, the Uwa Sea has also been severely affected by environmental destruction.
Unfortunately, this is also the result of the hearts of the people who live here.
Even fishermen, who are supposed to value the sea the most, are no exception.
The remains of ropes and floats discarded by fishermen can sometimes be seen floating in the sea.
It is rare for people to not throw away cigarette butts in the ocean.
Meanwhile, the fishermen of Yamashita-Pearl,
Since our founding, we will never forget our "appreciation for the sea."
We are committed to keeping the ocean, which provides us with abundant blessings, as clean as possible. In addition to properly disposing of trash and cigarettes, they are actively engaged in using soap detergents instead of synthetic detergents, cleaning the ocean, and planting trees in the mountains.
Now, the fishermen have started a new initiative to donate 1% of sales from their website to tree-planting activities around the Uwa Sea.
With gratitude to Mother Sea.
(Note 1: Synthetic detergent is a very dangerous drug for sea creatures. In an aquarium experiment, when we added 2 or 3 drops of synthetic detergent, the fish died immediately.)
(Note 2: Yamashita Pearl will take responsibility for directly donating 1% of sales to the Uwajima Fisheries Association's tree-planting activity funds.)