nuclear-news

there’s a sense of hopelessness and pessimism that they’ll ever be able to go out and catch fish again. 

Fishing ban reinstated as Fukushima nuclear leaks affect marine life http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3833333.htm Mark Willacy reported this story on Monday, August 26, 2013 TONY EASTLEY: With the Fukushima nuclear plant leaking hundreds of tonnes of radioactive water into the Pacific every day, fishing has once again been banned off the coast.

While scientists say it’s too early to tell how the contamination will affect marine life, test catches have shown that some fish – especially bottom-feeding species, have been affected.

The ABC’s North Asia correspondent Mark Willacy has managed to get a berth on a boat which is catching fish for testing off the coast.

I spoke to him via satellite phone a short time ago. ……..

TONY EASTLEY: What are the fishermen there with you on board saying about this latest crisis involving leaks from the plant?

MARK WILLACY: Well they’re just gobsmacked, Tony. They’re very angry. They’ve obviously believed that Tepco has been lying to them for weeks, if not months. You know, they seem to suggest that that the cover-ups get worse.

And that’s the feeling among the fisherman. They believe Tepco’s probably sitting on more secrets that they don’t want anyone to know about. So there’s a feeling that Tepco just cannot be trusted and that these fisherman probably don’t really feel like they have a future anymore.

TONY EASTLEY: So what is the future for the marine-based industries around Fukushima?

MARK WILLACY: Very grim I suppose in a word, Tony. Basically these fishermen I am with today, they were going to start fishing again next month. They believe that they could go out and start commercially catching again.

But that fishing that was planned has now been cancelled, and talking to the fishermen around this port earlier this morning before dawn, I can tell you that there’s just a feeling of hopelessness. You know, there’s a lot of these fishermen are in their fifties, in their sixties.

They believe that if Fukushima’s ever safe to fish again maybe they’ll be too old to do it, and they say who’s going to buy any produce marked “Caught in Fukushima”.

So from their perspective there’s a sense of hopelessness and pessimism that they’ll ever be able to go out and catch fish again.