Some seaweed and oyster farmers believe they were able to minimize the damage from the aftershock of the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck off Fukushima Prefecture on Nov. 22.
In the coastal areas of Miyagi and Iwate prefectures, the tsunami caused by the 7.4-magnitude quake hit seaweed farmers who had just started harvesting, oyster farmers whose harvest had just peaked, and operators of salmon-breeding facilities.
Yukio Ono, a 57-year-old fishery operator in Higashimatsushima, Miyagi Prefecture, had his aquaculture rope swept away by the tsunami. The motor of a small boat he jointly used with other fishermen also got damaged by the freak waves.
A tsunami even changes the flow of the sea bottom. This is why it is scary, said Ono, whose aquaculture facility and home were washed away by the massive tsunami spawned by the 9.0-magnitude mega-quake that struck off the Pacific coast in March 2011.
In the latest quake, 16 fishing boats were overturned in waters under the jurisdiction of the Miyato branch of the prefectural fisheries cooperative association, to which Ono belongs. Of some 1,300 rafts used for seaweed farming, 10 were destroyed. The damage estimates range from ¥7 million to ¥9 million.
Everything was swept by the March 2011 tsunami, but we were relieved this time that most farming facilities remained largely unscathed by the quake, said Tomio Chiba, the 60-year-old chairman of the branch’s steering committee. We were able to minimize the damage.
In Higashimatsushima, oysters fell from rafts. Rafts carrying the oysters were also hit by tsunami in Ofunano, Iwate Prefecture.
Fishery operators rebuilt facilities on their own. They will face peak harvest from now, a city official said, voicing hope for a rich harvest.
Some salmon-breeding facilities in Iwate were damaged as well. Their operators catch salmon that climb upstream to spawn, remove their eggs and sperm, and raise and release juvenile salmon into the river.
In Kamaishi, some piles used to fix nets were broken and fishery operators were forced to cancel operations. Harvesting facilities in Ofunano and Miyako were also damaged.
If the number of parent fish that can be caught declines, the number of younger fish also falls.
We just set up the nets in October, but hope to catch as many fish as possible by restoring them quickly, an official linked to the fishing industry in Kamaishi said.
Meanwhile, Mitsuhiro Kawasaki, director-general of the Iwate prefectural association for salmon and trout breeding, said, Damage to the nets increased as they are sensitive to the fast flow from downstream.
Some fishery operators were also hit by powerful Typhoon Lionrock in August, said Kawasaki, 56. They have suffered a double punch.
The Japan Times LTD.