Mar 9, 2021
Ten years after the March 2011 Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant catastrophe, local fishermen are finally holding out hope for a return to normalcy this spring.
The industry has long battled reputational damage to its products and salaries have taken a hit as annual catches have been kept at a fraction of pre-quake levels. In the first year after the quake, more than half of the fish samples tested for radioactive cesium levels exceeded the state’s limit of 100 becquerels per kilogram. But the samples continued to show decreasing radioactivity and shipment restrictions were lifted for all marine fisheries products in February 2020.
Membership of fisheries groups shrank 24% in areas hit by 2011 disaster Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Fishing boats are docked at a port in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture. Membership in fisheries cooperatives in the Tohoku region have tumbled in the 10 years since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. | KYODO
Kyodo Mar 4, 2021
Sendai – Memberships of fisheries cooperatives in the three prefectures of northeastern Japan hit hardest by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami tumbled 24.4% in the years after the disasters, in a decline sharper than that seen in the national average, a Kyodo News tally based on data from their unions showed Thursday.
Fishers decrease 24% in 3 Japan prefectures hardest hit by 2011 disaster
Membership in fisheries cooperatives in the three northeastern Japan prefectures hardest hit by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami tumbled 24.4 percent after the disaster, sharper than the national average, a Kyodo News tally based on data from their unions showed Thursday.
The sharp decrease came as members abandoned the industry after losing their homes or fishing boats in the massive tsunami or evacuating their hometowns due to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear crisis, officials of the cooperatives said.
Fishing boats anchored at a port in Soma, Fukushima Prefecture, are pictured on March 3, 2021. (Kyodo)
The total number of fisheries cooperative members in the three prefectures Miyagi, Iwate and Fukushima fell to 19,910 at the end of 2019 from 26,325 at the end of 2010, around two months before the disaster, according to prefecture-wide bodies.
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This 2007 file photo shows black rockfish. February 24, 2021 FUKUSHIMA Radioactive cesium five times above permitted levels in Japan has been detected in black rockfish caught in northeastern Fukushima Prefecture, according to a Feb. 22 announcement by a local fishing association. Some 500 becquerels per kilogram of cesium was found in black rockfish…