HISANOHAMA,
June 3 — Dozens of crabs, three small sharks and scores of fish thump on the
slippery deck of the fishing boat True Prosperity as captain Shohei Yaoita
lands his latest haul, another catch headed not for the dinner table but for
radioactive testing.
Japan’s government banned commercial
fishing in this area, some 200km (125 miles) northeast of Tokyo,
after a devastating 2011 tsunami and the reactor meltdowns and explosions that
followed at the nearby Fukushima
Dai-ichi nuclear plant.
The plant’s
operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co, or Tepco, has battled since then to keep
radioactive water used to cool the crippled reactor from leaking into the
ground and the sea.
The walls
of a once-bustling fish market that sold Yaoita’s catch of flounder, rockfish,
greenling and other sealife in the port of Hisanohama, about 20km (12 miles)
south of the ruined plant, remain in ruins.
The
fishermen of Hisanohama, forced out of work by the disaster, have had no choice
but to take the only job available — checking contamination levels in fish just
offshore from the destroyed nuclear reactor buildings.
"We
used to be so proud of our fish. They were famous across Japan and we
made a decent living out of them," said 80-year-old Yaoita, who survived
the tsunami by taking on the waves and sailing the six-person True Prosperity
out to sea.
"Now
the only thing for us is sampling."
Shoulders
stooped from years of hard work, Yaoita is happy to be back pulling fish out of
a 300-metre (330 yards) net. Like many younger fishermen, he’s unsure how long
he can stay at it.
The
fishermen and Tepco are in dispute over the utility’s plans to dump 100 tonnes
of groundwater a day from the devastated plant into the sea. The complicated
clean-up plan for Fukushima
could take 30 years or more.
Tepco’s
challenge is what to do with the contaminated water that has been pooling at
the plant at a rate of 400 tonnes a day — enough to fill an Olympic-size
swimming pool in a week.
So far it
has been racing to build tanks to store the contaminated water on the grounds
of the plant, in which all the water is kept at the moment.
It has also
asked fishermen to support a plan to build a "by-pass" that would
dump groundwater into the sea before it becomes contaminated by flowing under
the reactor’s wreckage.
"We
are staunchly against it," said Tatsuo Niitsuma, 71, who fishes with
Yaoita.
MORE
CONTAMINATION, LESS HOPE
Representatives
from fishing cooperatives met Tepco officials on Thursday to discuss the
proposal, with Trade Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to instruct Tepco on what to
do, although no final plans were announced.
In addition
to the "by-pass" Motegi, who also holds the energy portfolio, told
Tepco to create "protective walls" in the ground by freezing the soil
around the reactors to create an underground barrier to stop groundwater from
flowing in and mixing with contaminated water inside the reactor building.
The
fishermen, however, worry the "by-pass" plan risks more contamination
and delays, possibly ending any hope for the only job they know.
Tepco
officials have said it may take as long as four years to fix the problem, but
have said they do not need outside help.
The
uncertainty and stress have become problems. Many former fishermen live in
temporary homes next to people they barely know after losing not only their
jobs, but also family members.
Waves as
high as 40 metres wrought havoc across several hundred kilometres of Japan’s
northeastern coast, damaging ports handling 7 per cent of the country’s
industrial output, some 28,500 ships and 319 small fishing communities like
Hisanohama.
The total
cost of damage to the fishing industry is estimated at around 1.26 trillion yen
(RM37.47 billion).
About 40
Hisanohama fishermen survived the disaster. They could make a few thousand
dollars a month each with good catches, but instead get by on handouts for
tsunami survivors.
"For
many middle-aged men, their work meant everything, so now they find it hard to
mingle with others, cut themselves off and start drinking," said Hideo
Hasegawa, who runs a support centre in a 3,000-strong temporary housing
settlement.
The
fishermen’s opposition to Tepco’s plans underlines deep distrust across
radiation-contaminated areas towards Tepco and the government after their
uncertain response to the disaster, and a lack of clear information about
radiation risks since.
"They
say it’s safe, but they had always told us that the nuclear power is safe too -
and just look what a mess we’ve gotten ourselves into because of that,"
Yaoita said.
Many fish
caught in the area test below Japan’s
limits on radiation, a figure of 100 Bequerels per kilogram of Caesium-137 and
Caesium-134, according to the Japanese government. However, crews say fish that
live near the sea-floor, such as cod, halibut or sole, often test for excessive
levels of radiation.
A large
crab caught by Yaoita before the disaster could fetch as much as US$30 on the
Hisanohama market. A kilogram of flatfish could sell for about the same. Once
he could catch dozens of both and many other fish on a single morning outing.
"The
nuclear disaster destroyed our livelihoods and now we are like beggars,"
said Yaoita.
"Previously
I never went to see the doctor. Now it feels like I down more drugs and
medicine than actual food." — Reuters
