IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--Fishermen here, in an effort to have their livelihoods restored, released juvenile abalone into the sea on July 1. It was the first time to do so since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster just over two years ago.
IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--Fishermen here, in an effort to have their livelihoods restored, released juvenile abalone into the sea on July 1. It was the first time to do so since the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster just over two years ago.
“It is necessary in order to resume fishing operations in the future,” said one of the fishermen. “It is a major step (toward the resumption of operations).”
Near a rocky beach at the Onahama-shimokajiro district of Iwaki, fishermen aboard a small fishing boat went out to where the sea was a depth of 2 to 3 meters and released 10,000 juvenile abalone, each about 3 centimeters in diameter.
Abalone catches along the coast of the city of Iwaki totaled 24 tons at a value of 185 million yen ($1.86 million) in 2010, accounting for almost all abalone catches in Fukushima Prefecture.
But radioactive substances released from the crippled plant, where meltdowns occurred in three reactors, have been forcing local fishermen to voluntarily refrain from fishing operations.
This year, fishermen in the city have once again shelved planned trial fishing of abalone, as well as sea urchin fishing.