Kanno says the delicacy “is delicious and can be served at a good price”.īut he fears the fallout from the upcoming water release. Having carefully removed the deadly parts of a tiger pufferfish, he rustled up the classic dishes of crispy fried fish and thinly sliced, translucent raw sashimi. But since the disaster, fishermen haven’t been able to catch as much” because they can’t leave Fukushima waters, he told AFP. “We used to serve snow crab in the winter. Kanno, also an experienced seafood chef, is “very happy” about the fugu boom. The testing regime also applies to the newly abundant tiger pufferfish, which hotel operators like Yoshimasa Kanno, 48, hope will help attract tourists back to Fukushima. We feel so helpless.”Īn unofficial arrangement allowing Fukushima fishermen to sail to waters outside the prefecture, and vice versa, has been abandoned since the disaster.īecause of this, and with fewer fishermen at work, Matsukawaura’s total annual catch remains just 20 per cent of pre-2011 levels.Īlthough radiation testing rules for Fukushima seafood were relaxed in 2021, the region’s fisheries still check their produce voluntarily, sticking to stricter limits than the national standard. “But the government has decided to allow the water release. “We’re worried that the reputation of our produce could become even more tarnished,” he said. Still, neighbours South Korea and China have expressed alarm at the possible environmental impact, and Ishibashi fears consumers will be spooked again. Plant operator Tepco has also started trials to keep fish in the filtered water to demonstrate safety. The water still contains radioactive tritium, but at levels that the government, plant officials and the IAEA say are safe, because it will be diluted before being released over several decades through a kilometre-long pipe.Īn IAEA task force will monitor the release “until we are absolutely sure that it’s finished as expected, in line with the IAEA safety standards”, task force chair Gustavo Caruso said in January. Storage space for the water is running out, and the International Atomic Energy Agency has endorsed the release plan. The liquid is a combination of contaminated groundwater, seawater, rainwater, and water used for cooling, all filtered to remove various radioactive elements. More than a million tonnes of treated water is stored in tanks at the plant, where a tsunami triggered by an undersea earthquake on March 11, 2011, led to the world’s worst nuclear accident since Chernobyl. That figure soared ten-fold in 2022, after official restrictions on fishing were lifted following extensive radiation testing.īut there are new worries for the community as the Fukushima Daiichi operator prepares to begin releasing treated wastewater into the sea this year. The increased catch is, however, mainly down to the employment of longline techniques learnt from fugu fishermen in southwestern Yamaguchi, which helped the region’s fisheries bring in nearly three tonnes of tiger pufferfish in 2019. We can show them that fish from Fukushima is safe and delicious,” he said.įive years ago, not much tiger pufferfish was caught off Fukushima, but local authorities say warmer-than-usual water temperatures may have helped the species thrive. “We’re catching new, attractive species, and drawing attention from consumers. Now, each morning at Matsukawaura port, 50 kilometres (30 miles) north of Fukushima Daiichi, boat crews heave buckets overflowing with fat, dark-spotted tiger pufferfish into the arms of waiting family members.įor 43-year-old Ishibashi, the fish marketed as “fukutora” - meaning “lucky tiger” - lives up to its name. Fugu is often served raw at high-end restaurants in Japan, where chefs must hold a licence proving they can safely slice around organs that contain a lethal poison.
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