An Economic Geography of the Circulation of Marine Products

Abstract

1. I investigated the circulation of marine products in selected forth fishing ports in Japan.2. These forth fishing ports are selected from the ports in all the prefectures where the largest amount of fish is landed.3. The classification of management of fish; fresh fish, refrigerated fish, processed fish.A. ProcessingMain fishing ports where processing of fish is carried on; Rumoi, Monbetsu, Hakodate, Choshi, Shimizu, Yahatahama, Sakai, Ushibuka, Makurazaki.These ports are far from large consuming cities, are hard of access and are poorly equipped with refrigerating facilities.B. Ports where much fresh fish is shipped; Shimonoseki, Fukuoka, NagasakiFrom these ports, making full use of trains and automobiles, the fish is shipped to so-called “million cities” such as Osaka, Nagoya, Tokyo.C. Ports where there is much use of refrigerators; Shiogama, Ishinomaki, Kesennuma, Ofunato, Hachinohe, Kushiro, etc.Mackerel pike, horse mackerel, mackerel, sardine, and cuttle fish are the fishes that are consumed in large quantity in Japan. These are refrigerated to be supplied throughout the year.D. Tokyo market is powerful in areas to the east of Yaizu and Niigata, and in areas to the west of them Osaka market is influential.E. Fishing ports are classified into two kinds; ports that are situated near fishing grounds, and have good access to them; and ports mainly for landing fish. And there is a tendency that the ports of the latter kind are inclined to gather near consuming cities.