Radiation fears send fish hauls spiraling

[kristopher]

Saturday, Oct. 8, 2011
Radiation fears send fish hauls spiraling
Kyodo

SENDAI — Fish catches at eight major ports in the tsunami-hit Tohoku region have plunged since April in part because of the severe damage the fleet suffered in the March 11 disaster but mainly due to radiation fears amid the Fukushima nuclear crisis that are making hauls hard to sell.

Fishing boats have gone out less frequently this year on the assumption that consumers will shun fish caught near Fukushima Prefecture. Staying in port at least saves commercial fisherman the price of fuel, preventing their financial losses from growing even worse.

Compared with a year ago, catches are down by as much as 85 to 99 percent in volume in five Tohoku areas, as consumers continue to shun fish from the region, local officials and fishery cooperatives said Friday.

Fish hauls are down sharply at major ports in Aomori, Fukushima, Iwate and Miyagi prefectures, and fishermen and fish market officials lay the blame on the accident at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.

"Fish from Chiba and Ibaraki...

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20111008a3.html

[GliderGuider]

1. Thank God. Finally something is cutting our plundering of the oceans. /nt