Yaizu was elevated to town status on June 28, 1901. Yaizu Fishing Cooperative was established in 1903, and started to take frozen catch from Yaizu to Tokyo's Tsukiji fish market from 1908. Shipbuilding facilities, primarily for the production of fishing vessels, was established in 1924. The Yaizu Fishing Cooperative began the first wireless communication with its fishing fleet in Japan in 1925, but overfishing soon led to collapse of bonito stocks in 1926, resulting in a five-year fishing moratorium. After the start of World War II, the Yaizu fishing industry was again hit hard by the requisition of entire Yaizu fishing fleet (113 vessels) and crewmen by Imperial Japanese Navy in 1941. Only 10 vessels survived the war.