With the number of traditional "ama" female divers declining nationwide, their elderly ranks have stepped up efforts to recruit younger divers and promote their products as a formal brand to make the occupation more financially rewarding.
The time and effort put into landing their catches makes them "taste better," said Nayomi Oi, a diver in Sakai, Fukui Prefecture, as she spread out seaweed she pulled from the Sea of Japan to dry.
At 56, she is the youngest of the 16 women diving in the district. The oldest is 89.