Japan: Something's Down There, and It's Huge...

Japan maintains one of the world's largest commercial fishing fleets and invests heavily in technology. To pay for it all, they have to catch an awful lot of fish.
I found a fishing captain off the coast of Japan’s Shikoku Island who let me join them for their three-day fishing run.
Commercial fishing is the same the world over - long bouts of tedium (filled with endless card games and a half-working, 30-year-old television) - interspersed by periods of frantic activity.
The boats work in groups, like packs of wolves - using technology to find schools of fish and then encircling them with nets.
Fishing really is one of the most dangerous jobs in the world.
Everybody waits for the moment when they find out if they’ve got a good catch.
The tension is palpable.
They relieve it by snacking on a few raw fish they’ve caught at the top of the nets.
At last - something’s down there. It’s HUGE. When the fish bump against the net they drag the entire boat. It takes hours to haul up them up.
Once the fish are safely stored they dash for shore. Fresh fish brings a premium in Japan and it’s now a race to get their catch to the biggest seafood market in the world - Tsukiji in Tokyo.
Check out Japan's Tsukiji Fishmarket - From Sea Slugs to $250,000 Tuna: • Japan's Tsukiji Fishma...
Tune in for a new video every week from the far corners of our Human Planet! / ourhumanplanet
SUBSCRIBE to OUR HUMAN PLANET: bit.ly/2V4LsRa
#Travel #Adventure #Japan
Want to see all of our Japan stories? Download Japanland, the complete 4-hour PBS documentary series on Japan at www.japanlandonline.com/
(There’s also a book, reviewed by the New York Time and translated into 8 languages.)
LET’S CONNECT!
• Say hi on FB: / ourhumanplanetcom
Category: Travel

[@badfishingbissanschlagdril3637]

Oh nice there👍🏼🎣 Greetings from Germany🇩🇪🎣✌🏻️

[@xXdarkdekuXx]

The scheduled uploads have been awesome.

[@ab6ixblindforloveismyultja641]

So cool you get to experience these things! Thanks for sharing

[@OurHumanPlanet]

Thank you! :)

[@noahn]

Amazing! Please post more!!!

[@OurHumanPlanet]

Thank you!

[@atfernando1]

Amazing job.

[@abhishekdas3656]

Japan is very advanced, even the fishermen there know a bit about new technology

[@MegumiHayashida]

Kaijū?

[@phill1422]

Love your content. What camera are you using?

[@OurHumanPlanet]

This was an older Sony. The last shoot was a PMW 200 and the next shoot will probably be the new Canon XF705