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Daisetsuzan NP, Hokkaido
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When volcanic activity blocked the river, Dolly Varden char became isolated in Lake Shikaribetsu. Over time, they adapted to feed on plankton: Miyabe char typically have 26 gill rakers, compared with 21–22 in other Hokkaido Dolly Varden.
Many Miyabe char begin life in a stream, then move into the lake at about 1–2 years old, where they grow quickly. Others stay in streams for life; in autumn, lake-dwelling adults return to tributaries to spawn.
In 1968, Hokkaido protected the lake’s northern waters and inlets as a natural monument. But anglers then crowded into unprotected parts of the lake, and pressure there contributed to the fish’s decline—a reminder that protection boundaries matter.
Miyabe char has a place on local menus, but the fish served is farm-raised—not taken from the lake’s wild population. A nearby lakeside hotel describes its Oshorokoma as spring-water-raised and serves it salt-grilled.
In a 2015 conservation campaign, local teams caught 34,975 invasive signal crayfish in Lake Shikaribetsu. They also tested a barrier to help keep the crayfish out of the Yanbetsu River, a Miyabe char spawning stream.
The “Miyabe” in Miyabe char honors Kingo Miyabe, a botanist known for studying Hokkaido’s plants. Zoologist Masamitsu Oshima gave the fish its scientific name in 1938—a tribute to a scientist from another branch of natural history.
The lake’s special fishery is open only about 50 days a year, with a 50-angler daily limit. Every Miyabe char must be released, and anglers submit catch records—so a day on the water also helps researchers track the fish.
