People catching firefly squid in Toyama Bay on May 5 in Asahi, Toyama Prefecture. (©Sankei by Ikue Mio)
Toyama Bay was aglow with an unusual abundance of firefly squid in May. Many people gathered on the shores at night to catch these creatures.
Firefly squid live in the deep sea. In spring, they come up to the surface for spawning and gather along the coast at night — a phenomenon called "minage" in Japanese.
Glowing Shoreline
When enough firefly squid gather, the light they emit paints the shoreline with a faint blue glow. In early May, the shore was bustling with people trying to catch the squid at night, equipped with nets and head torches.
A woman in her 40s, who visited Toyama Bay with her husband, opened a cooler full of firefly squid. She shared, "Just when we thought of leaving because of the cold, they started swarming."
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(Read the article in Japanese.)
Author: Ikue Mio, The Sankei Shimbun
