OFUNATO, Iwate Prefecture--Even the chilly ocean couldn't keep divers out of the waters of the Sakihama fishing port here, who gathered around a firewood stove to warm themselves up after their "mission."
OFUNATO, Iwate Prefecture--Even the chilly ocean couldn't keep divers out of the waters of the Sakihama fishing port here, who gathered around a firewood stove to warm themselves up after their "mission."
They are members of a volunteer group that has been removing debris lying on the ocean floor, cleaning up from the earthquake and tsunami of March 11, 2011.
“I really thank them for cleaning the port,” said a 67-year-old fisherman, showing his appreciation for the group, the Sanriku Volunteer Divers. “The divers are not just friends. They are something much more than that.”
This volunteer effort was started in April 2011 immediately following the Great East Japan Earthquake by 38-year-old group leader Hiroshi Sato.
Sato was visiting a distant relative, Koichi Watari, 59, at another fishing port to deliver supplies.
“The sea and rivers are crammed with debris," Watari, a fisherman, told him. "Do you think salmon will make their runs upstream amid these conditions?”
Sato, a diving instructor, was conducting Salmon Swim, a tour to observe salmon swimming upstream to spawn. Watari’s question made Sato think that he, as a diver, should help restore the undersea environment that existed before the earthquake.
Sato did not know what kind of impact he could make, but he decided he had no choice but to try.
At first, the fishery cooperative expressed reluctance at allowing Sato to dive in fishing ports. Fishermen associated divers with poaching, and there was prejudice against them.
Watari persuaded his colleagues, saying “they will not be a nuisance to the fishery cooperative.” So, one month after the quake and tsunami, two divers and several fishermen started struggling with cleaning up the massive amounts of debris, oil and sludge.
Soon, many divers, not only from within Japan but also from overseas including Thailand and the Maldives, offered their cooperation. At the sight of divers eagerly removing debris, fishery cooperative members were also moved to take action.
They offered their support, and the debris-removing operation was being jointly conducted by the divers and fishermen only a half-month after it had begun.
“We have become inseparable friends with the fishermen,” Sato said. “The word ‘bond’ is often used these days, but this is actually emerging between us.”
To date, volunteer members have dived in 40 ports and bays, including the Okirai Namiita bathing beach and the Ryori fishing port. The number of divers who have participated in the cleanup effort totals some 2,500.
With the assistance of the volunteers and its own natural regenerative powers, the sea is becoming cleaner little by little. In some spots, fish and other living things have recovered to their numbers before the quake.
However, raging waves sometimes bring debris to cleaned ports and bays. Undeterred, the divers continue to go underwater to restore the ocean to its once pristine condition, while braving the harsh winter cold.