This paper aims to clarify the production and management side factors that led to the increase in the number of such types of fishermen through an analysis of the actual situation regarding the production structure of wakame seaweed farmers who aim to produce mekabu （hereinafter referred to as “mekabu seaweed-type farmers”）, and to discuss future prospects regarding structural restructuring of the wakame seaweed aquaculture industry.

Regarding the expansion of wakame production in Miyagi Prefecture, one of the factors that increased the willingness of cultured fishermen and fishing cooperatives to increase production was the increased demand from fish processors and the accompanying price increase.　In addition, it was confirmed that factors on the production and management side were related to （1） fishing ground conditions for mekabu seaweed cultivation, （2） simplified processing and shipping operations derived from the product characteristics of mekabu seaweed, and （3） damage to farmed fishing households caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake.　The interaction of these factors led to the expansion of mekabu seaweed production and the conversion of salt farmers to mekabu seaweed farmers in the aquaculture areas of the inner bay fishing grounds.

The production process of the mekabu seaweed farmers was based on shipping “raw” mekabu seaweed, which eliminated the need for salt processing.　As a result, the processing and shipping time of the mekabu seaweed farmers was much shorter than that of the intermediate and salted farmers.　On the other hand, the price level of mekabu seaweed was lower than that of salted wakame seaweed, so it was inferior to that of intermediate and salted wakame farmers, and the absolute amount of income was also much lower, although the income rate was higher due to lower costs.　Therefore, if mekabu seaweed farmers want to achieve the income and income levels of intermediate and saltwater farmers, they will need to take some measures, including expansion of the scale of their operations.