Product Summary (Registration No.114)

Registration No.114 広田湾産イシカゲ貝

Registered name (Transcription) : 広田湾産イシカゲ貝（Hirotawansan Ishikagegai）
Reference information : Hirota Bay Ishikage-gai（Clam）

Category of product

Class 4 : Marine product （Clam）

Production Area

Iwate Prefecture Hirota Bay, Rikuzentakata City

Registered Group

Hirotawan Fisheries Cooperative

Characteristics

Ishikage-gai is a mollusk with deep shells colored a strong red-brown, and a cream-hued "foot," which is the edible part. The meat is high in free amino acids, plump and resilient in texture, and sweet and umami-rich in taste.
Ishikage-gai from Hirota Bay is especially prized by high-end Tokyo restaurants and sushi establishments for its freshness, distinctive sweetness, and rarity.

Link with the Production Area

Hirota Bay was the first in the country to commence commercial-scale Ishikage-gai farming in 1996 following the perfection in 1993 of a method that involves suspending in the seawater basins filled with sand and collected natural juveniles. The method takes advantage of the jagged "ria" coastline of Hirota Bay.
The roughly 2.5 year farming process from collecting juveniles to shipment is carried out by local fishing industry workers and others under a well-coordinated program. Farmed Ishikage-gai are rigorously selected for quality before shipment.