Hatahata is a kind of sandfish found in the coastal waters of Akita Prefecture. These hatahata belong to the regional group of the species known as the Sea of Japan (North) Group. Hatahata of this group migrate around the shores of Aomori Prefecture to the Noto peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture. They lay eggs mainly along the coast of Akita Prefecture, and this area is considered their largest spawning area in Japan. This means that the coastal areas of Akita are well-suited for laying eggs and rearing larva and juveniles. What kind of special advantages do the hatahata find there?
Hatahata spend most of the year at a depth of 200 meters below sea level, but travel to shallow points of up to 5 meters in November and December to lay eggs in the seaweed beds. For this reason, the proximity between the deep sea and the shallow sea is convenient for hatahata. The chart below indicates the distribution of the spawning grounds. We can see that the spawning grounds are located relatively close to waters with depths of 200-300 meters. Moreover, the seaweed beds of coastal Akita consist of Hondawara seagrass such as Sugi-moku and Yatsumata-moku, which are well-suited for hatahata to lay their eggs. Baby hatahata grow by consuming bait in the seas around the Oga peninsula, where the gentle sea slope spreads from the north to the south. In the spring, the surface layers of the coastal waters of Akita become fertile; this occurs in thanks to the nutrient salts of the bottom layer, which rise as a result of the mixing sea water, as well as the melted snow water flowing in from the rivers. This nutrient salt is fed to the plankton that emerge every spring, and these plankton provide nutrition for the baby hatahata. Furthermore, the spiral streams at the northern and southern parts of the Oga peninsula help the weak-swimming babies stay in the same area. It can be said that the waters of the Oga peninsula serve as a “cradle” for babies and are home to all hatahata, as is sang in an Akita folk song: “Hachimori hatahata, Oga de Oga-Buriko.” (Hachimori is a place for hatahata, and Oga is a place for the eggs of the hatahata.)
