Abalone to show impact of tsunami 'for years'

The Yomiuri Shimbun

SENDAI--The population of young abalone growing wild in waters off Miyagi Prefecture was massively reduced by the March 11 tsunami, according to a fisheries research center, and the abalone catch is likely to suffer for several years as a result.

Young abalone numbers have fallen more than 90 percent since February, apparently because the edible mollusks were swept away by the tsunami, according to the National Research Institute of Fisheries, based in Yokohama.

The institute conducted research in the Tomarihama district on the Oshika Peninsula in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture, and in the Iwaisaki district of Kesennuma in the same prefecture. The study was done in cooperation with the University of Tokyo and the Miyagi prefectural government.

Researchers looked for Ezo abalone up to one year old in the sea off both areas in June, and compared the results to a similar study done in February.

Off Ishinomaki, they found only three young shellfish per hour per person in June, compared to 29 per person per hour in February.

Off Kesennuma, they had found about 10 young shellfish per hour per person in February, but in June they found none.

The survey also found the population of adult abalone in the two areas has fallen 30 percent to 50 percent since February.

Numbers of other edible sea creatures have also been affected--in Ishinomaki, the population of northern sea urchin is down by more than 90 percent compared to February, the study found.

Seabed water in both areas was muddy, according to the researchers. In Kesennuma, the seabed was covered with debris such as fishery equipment, wood and iron frames, they said.

Most abalone culture farms along the Sanriku coast were seriously affected by the tsunami, and it remains unclear when they will be able to resume operations. It is believed the abalone population would be significantly depleted if fishermen continued to harvest them at the same pace as in previous years.

According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, in fiscal 2009 Miyagi Prefecture had the second-biggest abalone catch in the country, and the third-biggest sea urchin catch.

Riichi Miura, 62, a fisherman in Karakuwacho in Kesennuma, went diving for abalone in early August, having replaced two fishing boats that were washed away by the tsunami. Miura found almost no abalone shellfish.

"We'll have to cut down our abalone catch for the next few years while we wait for the young shellfish to recover," Miura said.

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