I feel the wonderfulness of the Pacific Ocean! The 2nd Mayor Muroto Cup Nodoguro Jigging Festival

In December 2022, the second "Muroto Mayor's Cup Nodoguro Jigging Festival" was held following the previous year. This time, a total of 52 anglers entered. We will report on how wonderful fishing results came out on the day when the weather was blessed.

What is the Mayor of Muroto Cup Nodoguro Jigging Festival?

The Mayor of Muroto Cup Nodoguro Jigging Festival is a fishing tournament held at Sakihama Fishing Port in Muroto City, Kochi Prefecture. Nodoguro refers to high-grade deep-sea fish and red mutsu.

This is a rare throat tuna fishing tournament nationwide, which began in 2021 to let anglers from all over the country know the charm of Muroto's sea. 52 people participated.

This is a fishing tournament that has a competitive advantage, competing for the total weight of up to three throats that have been fished by jigging during the competition time and determining the ranking. 

By the way, jigging is a way of fishing that aims at fish with a device with a needle attached to a pseudo-bait made of metal called metal jigs. It has become popular in recent years as a very deep fishing that can aim for various fish. 

Muroto City is located at the eastern end of Kochi Prefecture and is surrounded by the sea and mountains. As the "Murodo UNESCO Geopark", the entire city of Muroto is the only UNESCO Global Geopark in Shikoku, and a dynamic sight that makes you feel the breath of the earth is spreading. 

Around Cape Muroto, strange rocks formed by the rise of the seabed can be seen, and the complex seabed geometry in the sea also characterizes Muroto. About 2 to 3 km off the East Coast, there is a steeply deep escarpment, which is about 1000 meters deep. Since the water depth is about 250 to 300 meters near the coast, this area is suitable for fishing deep-sea fish such as throat tuna and kinmedai. 

At the bottom of the sea, escarpment rises from a deep ocean current. This is the nutrient-rich deep ocean water known as the blessings of the sea of Muroto. In addition to the complex terrain, various effects such as deep ocean water and the Kuroshio Current flowing along the coast, the sea of Muroto is a treasure trove of a wide variety of fish. 

Muroto, where many people enjoy shore fishing, including fishing offshore, introduced this time. What kind of festival is held in this place where you can meet various fish?

Nodoguro Jigging Festival

December 10, 2022. The reception starts early in the morning, and the participants gather one after another. For those who entered, a metal jig of the participation prize was distributed. At the end of the opening ceremony, each participant boards the boat and prepares for the start of the tournament.

When the tournament management ship shakes a yellow flag, each ship starts all at once toward the target point.

Our coverage ship arrived at a fishing ground about 250 meters deep in about 10 minutes. 

Participants will put metal jig in front of us. When the metal jig falls on the sea floor, swing the pole slowly and largely and move the metal jig underwater to induce a throat. The first fish caught was a woman who participated from Tokushima Prefecture, a neighbor of Kochi Prefecture.

Unfortunately, it was not the throat I was aiming for, but it is a high-class fish lined with throats that are delicious even when eaten.

Yuzawa, who participated from Tokyo, first fished the throat on the interview ship.

Yuzawa is an artist who made a major debut in a reggae group called Fireball. It seems that he came all the way to Muroto because he was a enthusiast of jigging.

As follows Yuzawa-san, other participants also fished the throat well, and sometimes three people fished at the same time, and the boat was excited. Some people fished multiple throats by themselves, and it was a moment when I felt the richness of the sea in Muroto again.

The weather was fine and there was almost no wind, and the participants seemed to be able to fish satisfactoryly and smiled on the boat.

Return to the port at 14:30, put three fish caught in a bag and hand it to the inspection staff. After the inspection, cleaning activities at Sakihama Fishing Port are carried out.

The Muroto Mayor's Cup Nodoguro Jigging Festival considers the SDGs, and after the competition, clean up the fishing port and collect and donate fish that cannot be returned to the sea, contributing to the global environment and the local community is one of the concepts. It is a tournament listed as one.

Participants were working on activities as a countermeasure against the marine plastic problem, which has become a problem in recent years, and thanks to the local people. 

In addition to cleaning activities, fish that could not be returned to the sea were collected. The collected fish is provided to local residents, such as nursery schools in Sakihama. It also led to the effective use of resources.

After cleaning activities, the award ceremony was held following raffle. In raffle, 32 winners were presented by major fishing gear manufacturers and fishery associations in the Muroto area by lottery with entry numbers. With luxurious prizes such as cooler boxes, which are essential for fishing, and raw shrimp that are delicious to eat, the participants forgot the fatigue of fishing and became a lively raffle.

At the following awards ceremony, the 5th to 1st place were announced after the announcement of the multi-fish category and the Captain's Award. Mr. Yokota, who participated from Kochi City, won the championship in a mixed battle of only 50g from 4th place to 1st place.

 Finally, Mayor Soichiro Ueda gave a greeting from Mayor Muroto, and the tournament will close.

Comment by Mayor Muroto

"Today, many people from afar, from Aomori in the north to Miyazaki in the south, participated in the tournament, and we were able to hold it grandly. Thank you very much for your cooperation. Congratulations on the fishing again. Muroto City has a valuable terrain that has been certified as a UNESCO Geopark. From the national highway, you can see the rare earth, mountains, and sea. Depending on the weather, the color and brightness of the mountains and seas look completely different. The throat that everyone enjoys today is a fish unique to Muroto, which has the deep sea near the coast of Japan. By all means, I would like to continue this tournament with the 3rd and 4th sessions in the future, making it a bigger and bigger tournament. We look forward to your continued support. 」

Finally

We told you about the 2nd throat jigging festival. This tournament was visited by anglers not only in Kochi Prefecture but also from all over Japan. With the cooperation of Muroto City Hall, various unions and fishing boats, it was a lively day. The conference will be held in the future.

If you like fishing, please join us.

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