ISARIBI NO.70

ISSN1346-2512

NO.70, AUG. 2011

Japan
Fisheries
Association

Sankaido Bldg.,
9-13 Akasaka 1, Minato-ku,
Tokyo, Japan 107-0052
tel: 81-3-3585-6683
http//www.suisankai.or.jp

Views and Opinions of Japan’s Fisheries Industry

Eastern Japan Mega-quake and Tsunami
JFA is grateful for relief donations from all over the world-JFA President visits disaster-hit communities to assure help for restoration-T

he Japan Fisheries Association (JFA) expresses its heartfelt gratitude forthe relief contributions it received from many people and organizations
all over the world in support of the communities affected by the Great
Eastern Japan Earthquake that devastated broad areas along the Pacificcoast on March 11, 2011. JFA President Toshiro Shirasu, also Chief of theEastern Japan Earthquake Disaster Relief Headquarters, visited from April 18
to 20 Kesennuma, Ofunato, Shiogama, Ishinomaki and Onagawa—the cities
and towns in the Sanriku region ravaged severely by the mega earthquake
and tsunami. Shirasu delivered directly to mayors or their deputies at themunicipal ofﬁces the donations and relief goods contributed broadly from theﬁsheries communities overseas and throughout Japan.
At the same time, he conveyed to them words of encouragement, assuringthat the JFA will maintain a strong bond with people in the disaster-stricken
areas under the slogan: "We will never give up ﬁsheries in Japan!" He pledged that the JFA is committed to do
its utmost to restore the disaster places, principally based on ﬁsheries.
People in plagued areas believe that there will be no restoration of the region without the resuscitation ofﬁsheries. Reconstruction of ﬁsheries will lead to rebuilding of Japan as a whole. To lose the ﬁshing ground in
Sanriku region having a vast treasure of ﬁshery resources would be a great loss for Japan as a nation.
The city and town leaders, who received the relief contributions and goods in such a short interval after theearthquake occurred, expressed immense gratitude, conﬁrming their resolve to restore, as soon as possible,
the ﬁsheries which is the core industry of the region. As long as the sea is there, ﬁsheries will never cease, theysaid.
The JFA continues its efforts to help bereaved families and affected people. It plans to give support to them
mainly through the local self-governing bodies in the stricken areas with the contributions it has received. The
relief donations received as of July 1, 2011, including those from eight organizations and two private persons
overseas, amounted to Y136,963,191.
In what follows, JFA reports, with immense gratitude, on the visits of Shirasu and his team to disasterstricken communities.

Kesennuma:--Heading toward resuming the fish market
and securing ﬁshing boat activities--U

pon landing at the Sendai Airport and getting
off the plane, Shirasu and other members ofthe mission were taken by surprise. Although
they knew through television reports that Natori
City, situated at a sea-level zone, was hit by theearthquake and tsunami, they found the sceneryfrom both sides of the train windows were enough toconvince them of the terror of tsunami. Buildings weredestroyed from their foundation, houses left only with
their cornerstones laid bare, cruel sight of big trees
which fell to the ground -- all these atrocious sights
could not have been seen in man-made setting for anearthquake horror ﬁlm. When the mission hired cars,
the rent-a-car operator said that he would not takeresponsibility for ﬂat tire because of rough roads, andnow they came to know what the operator meant.

ISARIBI: First published by the Japan Fisheries Association in October 1992.
JFA President: Toshiro Shirasu; Editor: Masashi Nishimura

ISARIBI NO.70

AUG. 2011

When the team entered Kesennuma, the ﬁrst leg of
their visits, they witnessed a far more disastrous reality.
Probably those who are related to ﬁsheries might havevisited the city in the past and still have the memoryof the city. But the coastal area, where ﬁshing bases
were concentrated, had been devastated so severely
by catastrophic blows of the earthquake and tsunamithat it was not possible to identify the landscape andlocations of former buildings. The disaster was terrible
but it was somewhat mitigated by the continued
presence of the municipal ofﬁce building standing ona hill. President Shirasu expressed to Mayor Shigeru
Sugawara his sympathy for the destruction of the cityby the unprecedented earthquake and damage on
many citizens who were affected by the calamity. He
offered special condolences for many lives lost in thedisaster.

restore the fisheries industry. As long as the sea isthere, Kesennuma will survive."(NOTE: Kesennuma has been the top landing portof fresh skipjack in Japan for 14 years in a row.
It is also well-known for the production of shark
products, including shark fin. The city’s committee
to reconstruct the ﬁshing port functions declared on
March 28 that, as the responsibility of survivors of
the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the citizens
will be united to move forward to restoration andreconstruction of Kesennuma as a ﬁshing port city."
Mayor Sugawara said that "after the occurrence of thegreat disaster, people in Kesennuma came to be aware
afresh that ﬁsheries are the starting point of our city’s
restoration.")Ofunato:--Will strive to secure employment and ensure
the use of ﬁshing vessels--A

Shirasu delivering relief contribution to Mayor Sugawara

Shirasu said that "many people in the ﬁsheries circle
in Japan donated for the restoration of Kesennuma, acity known as an outstanding ﬁshing community." "To
the present time, he added, Kesennuma has provided
us with valuable fishery products from the Sanriku
region on a stable basis. The port has functioned as alanding base for coastal ﬁshing for saury, skipjack andother important species from the near-shore grounds.
It also served as a major base for distant-waterﬁshing, such as tuna longline ﬁshing. Furthermore, it
has played its roles as a distribution and processing
base of seafood. Given these vital roles, we can saythat there will be no restoration of ﬁsheries in Japan
without the restoration of Kesennuma."
Shirasu renewed his pledge that the JFA will exert
its best efforts in helping Kesennuma to achieve
recovery, with ﬁsheries as its core.
In response, Sugawara made his commitment clear
to preserve the tradition of the ﬁshing community. He
said: "70% of Kesennuma's population (about 70,000)
are related to fisheries in some way or other. The
coastal zone of the city was exposed to the damageof the quake, and part of the ﬁsh market sank into
the ocean as a result of land subsidence. This meansthat a direct damage was inﬂicted on the heart of thecity itself. We are now faced with the need, ﬁrst andforemost, to ensure the livelihood of the people. For
this goal, we will rehabilitate the fish market at an
early date, secure cruise routes for ﬁshing vessels ands the next destination, the mission visited
Ofunato City in Iwate Prefecture on the sameday, by traveling from Kesennuma along thecoast line through the Karakuwa district in Miyagi
Prefecture.
On both sides of the roads, made by removing
the heap of rubble, there were houses which wereshattered in an instant with all the memories attachedto them. The building of Kesennuma Junior HighSchool, ruined by the tsunami, was seen from there in
an unspeakably miserable state.
The ﬁshing port of Ofunato was also destroyed, but
the municipal ofﬁce building remained safe as it was
located at a high point.
While delivering the relief donation in a meetingwith Deputy Mayor Teruo Kimuro, President Shirasu
s a i d : " O f u n a t o C i ty, a m e m b e r o f t h e J FA , h a scontinued stable supply of fresh seafood to consumers
in Japan. Ofunato is specially known as a producer of
abalone. The ‘Yoshihama abalone’ harvested as a local
brand by Yoshihama Fisheries Cooperative is valued in
China as the top-class commodity. It is very painful to
see that Ofunato suffered tremendous damage of theearthquake and tsunami. Please be assured that the
JFA will go all out to help restore ﬁsheries, Ofunato's
basic industry, and ensure the effective use of thebountiful fishery resources in the Sanriku fishingground."Mr. Kimuro conveyed to the mission the strong willof the city to restore ﬁsheries, by showing the photosof the damage and ﬁshery facilities that were left out.
He stated: "Most importantly, we will strive to ensure
the use of fishing vessels, and help the disastervictims and fishermen to find employment andrevitalize and resume market and business activities.
We do hope that the national government will show us
the broad blueprint toward reconstruction as soon as
possible. We would like to seek the JFA's help toward
this goal."

Page 2

ISARIBI NO.70

AUG. 2011(NOTE: Ofunato experienced the damage ofthree great earthquakes so far, including the Meiji
Sanriku Earthquake in 1896 and Showa Sanriku
Earthquake in 1533. During the latest disaster, theOfunato market remained safe by and large andﬁshermen are beginning to resume their work, butabalone ﬁshery, its representative ﬁshing sector, wasdestroyed almost entirely. It is said that at least 10
years will be needed for recovery of this importantsector.)

350 were safe. The destruction of Shiogama Port waspartial and the fish market and processing plants
almost recovered. The fishery processing complex
where many seafood processors participate stays ingood conditions. )Ishinomaki:--Aims to rebuild the city by harmonizingﬁshery production, distribution and processing
sectors--

Shiogama:

W--Seafood freezing facilities evaded damage,providing a clue to restoration--F

ollowing Kesennuma and Ofunato on April
18, President Shirasu and his team visited
Shiogama, Ishinomaki and Onagawa in Miyagi
Prefecture on April 19 to deliver the relief donations.
Handing out the donation personally to Shiogama
Mayor Akira Sato, Shirasu stressed that "there will be
no recovery of ﬁsheries in Miyagi unless the city of
Shiogama recovers itself." He further stated: "Amongaffected cities, Shiogama showed a sign of recovery
at an early stage, as seen in the case of landingsof tuna at its port soon after the disaster. This truly
proved the high spirit of ﬁshermen in Shiogama, oneof the top landing ports of tunas in Japan. I would
like to encourage all of you to keep up with yourefforts, not forgetting that many fellow fishermen
elsewhere are ready to help you."
Sato thanked Shirasu heartfully for his words ofencouragement. He said: "On April 14, about one
month after the earthquake struck our city, Hoyo
Maru No. 18, a tuna longliner from Oita, westernJapan, entered our port as the first fishing vessel
after the port activities resumed. It landed fresh
tunas, including albacore, yellowfin and bigeye,
which it caught in the Paciﬁc. On April 18, the second
vessel from Tokushima arrived at the port, to befollowed by another at the end of April.
We would like to take this development positively
so that the light of ﬁsheries in Miyagi can continue
to be kindled. The advantage we had was thatabout one third of the ﬁsh market facilities were left
without being destroyed. Thanks to subsequent hard
work for rehabilitation, we managed to carry out
auctions at the market. We would like to have not
only ﬁshermen but also seafood processors use themarket facilities because the cold-store warehouses
were retained in a usable state. We are committed
to make further progress toward the restoration, byusing these advantages as a breakthrough."
Before closing the meeting, Shirasu strenuously
pledged the JFA's assistance for the restoration ofﬁsheries in Shiogama.

hen the team moved from Shiogama to
Ishinomaki, the roads were jammed up.
We encountered a long queue of vehicles of
the Self-Defense Force, which came to the region for
rescue and assistance. There were also trucks and carsthat brought relief and emergency goods from all overJapan.
In Ishinomaki, an ad-hoc municipal ofﬁce and disaster
headquarters have been temporarily established on theupper floors of Sakurano Department Store, locatedjust in front of the Ishinomaki station, whose lower
floors were harshly ravaged by the earthquake andtsunami.
Before meeting Mayor Hiroshi Kameyama, President
Shirasu talked with private-sector representatives,
including Kunio Suno, President of Ishinomaki Fish
Market. Suno requested Shirasu to provide more
information such as the government program to restore
quake-plagued areas and to assist the livelihood of thepeople. He stated: "Those who survived the disasterare now standing up ﬁrmly for the reconstruction of thecity. I hope the assistance to the city should be focusedon this perspective."
He further said that "for the reconstruction offisheries, it is crucial, first of all, to secure meansof livelihood of the people. But in a fisheries baselike Ishinomaki, fisheries, distribution (market) andprocessing sectors have developed in a very close
linkage, therefore, we do hope that reconstruction
plan will incorporate these three sectors as much as
possible. Especially, Ishinomaki has the most active(NOTE: Shiogama is an important landing base forfresh tunas in Japan. Many near-shore tuna longline
fishing vessels are based in this port. Only four of
those vessels were damaged, while the remaining

Page 3

Kesennuma Fishing Port immediately after the tsunami attack

ISARIBI NO.70
and thriving fishery processing sector in Miyagi
Prefecture. Most of the processing plants in thecity underwent catastrophic destruction, with many
workers losing their job. For this reason, Ishinomaki
municipal ofﬁce has established a general departmentthat would bring together the production, distribution
and processing sectors, with a goal to promoteoverall reconstruction of the city. We do hope thatthe national government as well as the JFA support
the goal and activities of this department."
Shirasu noted the fact that Ishinomaki is a cityof fisheries and is a central base in the Sanriku
region that has one of the largest fishing grounds
in the world. The Japanese people will certainly
sustain a tremendous loss if local brand fish suchas Kinka mackerel caught in the rich ﬁshing groundoff Kinkazan are not supplied to consuming places
throughout the country. If Ishinomaki fails to achievea full-scale recovery, it would be a loss of a national
scale. Based on this recognition, the JFA will continue
its support of Ishinomaki."In a meeting that followed, Mayor Kameyama told
Shirasu that the city is much grateful for the JFA's
speedy action to bring the relief donation by thehand of its president in person. He further stated:"Ishinomaki, a ﬁsheries city, lost no time in starting
its efforts toward reconstruction. We have a strong
sense of solidarity among us. We look forward to
the national government to show us an overall
reconstruction plan while the people have suchstrong enthusiasm. People in the disaster-stricken
areas are doing what they can, despite profoundsorrow. I wish all the Japanese people become awareof their plight and efforts."(NOTE: Ishinomaki has the second largest fishingport in the Tohoku region after Hachinohe in Aomori
Prefecture. The volume of ﬁshery products handled
at the Ishinomaki Port in a year amounts to 115,000
tons. However, the Fish Market--the center of thecity,--seafood processing complex, diverse typesof aquaculture facilities, set-net fishing equipment
and other facilities were subjected to catastrophic
destruction by a giant tsunami with the heightexceeding 20 meters. Jobs for more than 4,000
people were lost. The damage on ﬁshing vessels wasserious, except for offshore trawlers and large-scale
purse-seiners. Land subsidence after the earthquake
also produced a serious problem.)

Onagawa:--Plans to create a new town where
people can live comfortably--Driving from Ishinomaki through Watanoha andgoing round the Oshika Peninsula, we headed
for Onagawa via the National Highway Route2 passing through Ayukawa area. At the end of awinding mountain trail emerged a number of ﬁshingvillages all of a sudden before our eyes. All of thevillages had been severely hit by the earthquake
and tsunami. We could not believe that it was what

AUG. 2011used to be the beautiful rias coast. What we saw there
were utterly miserable and helpless scenes -- ﬁshingboats stranded on top of the ﬁshing port together withdebris, scattered ﬁshing gear, collapsed wharves andbreakwaters. Entering the Onagawa town, the impact
became even stronger. About 70% of buildings andhouses were crumpled, and trains were twisted andturned over ruthlessly. The municipal office building
was also destroyed, so the disaster relief headquarters
were temporarily set up in a nearby Onagawa No.2
Elementary School.
Mayor Nobutaka Azumi said, after thanking President
Shirasu for the relief donation: "As you see, Onagawa
experienced a catastrophic blow by the earthquake andtsunami. Furthermore, the town still gets ﬂooded at fulltide because the land subsided after the disaster. After
undergoing such an intense disaster, I do not think it ispossible to restore the town back exactly to what it was
before. Further, when we consider that earthquake,tsunami and land subsidence that might occur in the
future, we may have to take an approach under aconcept to build a completely new town, not just to
restore the former town. We need a reconstruction plan
for a town where we can live safely and securely.
Responding to the mayor, Shirasu noted that hebelieves it is crucial to have a medium- and long-termplan to restore the town as well as a plan to resuscitateﬁsheries ﬁrmly. He further stated: "Onagawa has been
the top saury landing port in Japan, and has had athriving fishery processing industry for many years.
Therefore, I think we need a reconstruction plan thatenvisages building of a town having a safe residential
concept and the one having ﬁsheries at the core.
Azumi said some people may leave Onagawa forgood and some private corporations might give up
joining in reconstruction. But we need a message andsupport that encourages people who have chosen tostay and pursue reconstruction. To begin with, wewould like to launch on restoration of the city, startingwith a small step, say, by setting up an open-air
market.
Commenting on the mayor's remark, Shirasu
stressed: "It might take a long time for Onagawa to
restore itself, but you have the sea with bountiful
resources in front of your shore. I believe fish andmarine plants will return eventually. Let us place ourhope in this outlook. We have no reason to leave thosevaluable resources unused. Please be assured that the
JFA will continue its support to Onagawa."(NOTE: Onagawa was exposed to serious damageof tsunami, with seafood cold-stores and processing
facilities, the town's principal industry, totally collapsed.
The annual trading volume at Onagawa Fish Market
totals about Y8.5 billion, of which saury and coho
salmon account for 60%. At the town's meeting onﬁsheries restoration on April 2, Mayor Azumi appealed
Onagawa to stand up against adversity and said thatthe shortest way to reconstruction is the restoration ofﬁsheries. )(The above articles are based on the reports of the
Nikkan Suisan Keizai Shimbun.)

The readers are cordially invited to send their comments on articles in this issue to mnishimu@suisankai.or.jp--Editor