ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Oyster harvesting began on Oct. 29 in Miyagi Prefecture from among the few farms that escaped damage from the March 11 tsunami.
ISHINOMAKI, Miyagi Prefecture--Oyster harvesting began on Oct. 29 in Miyagi Prefecture from among the few farms that escaped damage from the March 11 tsunami.
About 60 fishermen of the prefectural fisheries association's Ishinomaki Bay branch arrived at the port here in their boats and hauled in oysters that were raised on floating rafts.
The oysters will be removed from their shells and shipped on Oct. 30. They are to be eaten raw.
"The oysters look good this year," fisherman Fujio Kikuchi, 62, said. "I am glad to be able to work in the sea."
Most of the oyster farms in Miyagi Prefecture were swept away in the tsunami following the magnitude-9.0 Great East Japan Earthquake.
But Ishinomaki oyster farmers have managed to raise undamaged seed oysters since July.
According to the prefectural fisheries association, this year's oyster hauls in the prefecture will likely drop to about 10 percent of usual levels.
Before the quake, the prefecture was ranked second in the nation for oyster production, following Hiroshima Prefecture.