第１６４６堀：航海と漁師体験 (Part2)
"I don't know how the research will turn out, but for the time being, this is the only fishing port in Rogari. In other words, this is the only place to get Rogari fish. I can't say for sure if it will become popular, but the population of Weed already exceeds fifty thousand. It’s not as if everyone eats fish every single day, but according to Ratz—that is, the Commercial Department—the monthly fish consumption is roughly ten tons."
"?"
We understood the unit of ten tons, but had absolutely no idea what that actually amounted to.
"Converted to kilograms, that’s ten thousand kilograms. Considering the size of the fish we usually eat, if we assume a maximum of five hundred grams per fish, that means roughly twenty thousand servings are consumed each month. Are we clear so far?"
Everyone nodded.
"If the fifty thousand citizens of Weed were to eat three meals a day for thirty days, that would be four and a half million meals. Out of those, twenty thousand are fish. Of course, understand that this is a rough calculation. It doesn't even amount to one-hundredth of the total, but looking at it from the other side, it means about one in every two hundred people is eating a fish dish."
That’s true. Five hundred grams is far too much for one fish; I’d say two hundred grams is about my limit. If that’s the case, then surely more is being eaten than that.
"Furthermore, while there is the possibility of eating monsters, that is fundamentally the work of adventurers; what fishermen catch are ordinary fish. And going forward, this port town is not only a resort but also Weed's first maritime territory. How much do you think we need to catch to make these fish available to the general public?"
"..."
The staff were left speechless by that question. There was no doubt that the number had to exceed the ten tons Yuki had mentioned earlier.
"Well, we’ll know the exact figures once this port town and the resort are open to the public. You’ll have to listen to the demand and adapt accordingly. That said, there’s no harm in catching too much, so feel free to recruit plenty of fishermen."
"Why is that?"
"Because the marketplace isn't limited to just the resort. You can simply bring them to Weed or sell them to other countries."
"I see. You’re confident they will sell?"
"Yes. For now, the seafood caught in the Rogari continent is of a different variety than that of other continents, and monster materials are in high demand everywhere. It’s not as if there’s nowhere to sell them. Even if there were, I’ll coordinate with Seraria and the higher-ups to ensure Weed guarantees the trade."
Yuki said this to put them at ease, but judging by the reactions of the various countries, I truly don't think there will be any problems. I think we should just catch as much as we can.
"Now, setting the explanations aside—Yayui, were there any issues with the ship or anything else during the voyage so far?"
"No, there were no problems. The route went as planned, and the ship itself is performing well. However, this is my first time, and the sea itself is calm, so I believe further testing is still necessary."
"Well, we’ll have to gather data for that starting now."
Indeed, he always said that the basics of these things involve repeating the process to gather data.
"I’ll leave that to the staff. Today, we’re going to take the ship out to sea. How is this vessel? Does it seem sufficient?"
"Yes. With this level of performance, I don't think there will be any issues."
"The only thing left is how to actually catch the fish..."
"That, then. Shall we give it a simple try? It’s been a while, but with this many people, we should be able to manage casting and retrieving a net."
"?"
And so, for some reason, we ended up experiencing the fishing industry firsthand, using a fish finder...
"Alright, casting the net!"
"Y-yes!"
We all threw the casting net together...
"Next, we pull. Usually, this is done with a mechanical winch, but you also need people to handle the work of removing the fish from the net."
"Eh?"
By the time we finished removing the fish caught in the net and putting them into the freezer, it had started to get dark, and we finally returned to the port...
"The rest involves sorting the catch and holding an auction at this port, but that’s enough for today. You can divide up whatever you want..."
Needless to say, by the time we returned, we were absolutely reeking of fish.
Ah, but the fish were delicious.
Being a fisherman is not an easy job.
Well, that’s true of any job, I suppose.