Fishery products from Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, were traded at Tokyo’s bustling Tsukiji fish market for the first time on May 9 since the disaster began to unfurl at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011.
Fishery products from Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture, were traded at Tokyo’s bustling Tsukiji fish market for the first time on May 9 since the disaster began to unfurl at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant in March 2011.
Of a total of 1.6 tons of flatfish, octopus and other seafood caught the previous day in trial trawling off the coast of Iwaki, 90 kilograms of pricey willowy flounder, 6 kg of greeneyes and another type of fish were traded at the market.
Before being put up for auction, the fishery products underwent voluntary checks for radioactivity levels by the Iwaki city fishery association and other parties. While 13 becquerels per kg were detected from the willowy flounder--well under the government standard of 100 becquerels per kg--readings for the greeneyes were below detectable levels.
Tohto Suisan Co., a wholesaler, said its willowy flounder from Iwaki was traded at around 1,000 yen ($9.80) per kg on May 9, and all six cases, each containing 3 kg of the fish, were sold out. According to the company, trade prices were roughly the same levels as before the nuclear crisis.
“I am happy to see our fish sell quickly,” said Norio Kojima, a Tohto Suisan department chief.