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Octopus caught off Fukushima back on sale at Tokyo fish market for 1st time since disaster

14 Comments

Shipments of octopus caught off Fukushima Prefecture went on sale at the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo this week for the first time since last year's March 11 disaster.

According to the Fukushima Prefectural Fishing Association, the octopus and squid were caught as part of test fishing activities that were carried out in preparation for a full-scale resumption of fishing activities in the region, TV Asahi reported. The association said the seafood had been tested and declared free of radiation.

Wholesalers said the octopus fetched prices of around 1,500 yen per kilogram, roughly 20% higher than before the disaster.

The association says that fishing is taking place in areas at least 50 km northeast of the stricken Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, and said that all catches will be rigorously tested for radiation, TV Asahi reported.

Checks carried out in June found that flounder, sea bass and other fish caught off the coast of Fukushima could not be sold because they were found to contain radiative elements. This was followed by reports published by Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in May, which claimed that radioactive fish from Fukushima had been found off the coast of California.

Octopus shipments are expected to resume fully next month.

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14 Comments
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Everything being tested is laughable, clearly only a small sample from each catch or batch can be tested and without fail there will be cases where apparently tested and cleared foods will be retested independently and found to be contaminated, and then someone will bow and say sorry until the next time.

Label everything (and genuinely enforce it with serious jail time) and let the people choose.

6 ( +6 / -0 )

Proper labeling in needed is this country. Without it, I won't be buying anything caught in Japan. Not worth the risk. Better safe than sorry and sorry but if other fish are contaminated you'd have to be a fool to think other things from the area are safe - more so for fish that eats smaller fish and shell fish.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

You should eat them because they are fresh and 'oishii'.

We know that massive quantities of radiation were released into the sea and the currents tended to take them thousands of kilometers north and east, so a minumum of 50 kilometers is just laughable.

We know now from the article that other species (flounder, sea bass and other fish) failed in June because they contained 'radiative elements' (sic). (Where was the news at the time?)

The miilion-dollar question is, do we trust/believe that these tests are rigorous and comprehensive, and that every piece of octopus will be labelled and followed throughout the national food distribution process?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

No thanks!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Wish I could read the labels of where things come from, another thing off the menu.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Just don't eat the ones with nine tentacles.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Very simple.. if it glows... don't eat it

0 ( +0 / -0 )

This incident has changed Japanese culture.......no longer is Fugu the 'risk your life to eat' delicacy to feature in Simpsons episodes....

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

STUPID STUPID STUPID. How many times do they have to stick their fingers in the blender before they realise it's a bad idea?

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I will eat these tasty sea creatures. I have bigger problems to worry about than some minute amounts of radiation, if there at all, which will just give me power anyway.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I check and test fish and meat myself, I will not trust any of these people...These people want to think the public is stupid, but If you take some precautions, you don't have to be a full and believe their BS, think for yourself and for your family.

I note your comment does not make any mention of high level readings, readings above acceptable limits, or readings above those claimed by government.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Unfortunately, the level of radiation necessary to cause damage via ingestion is much lower than that required from our external environment. For this reason dangerous radiation levels in food are not normally detectable with a normal geiger counter (because you need it to be extremely sensitive). If you do detect some sort of radiation, you definitely shouldn't eat it.

Some people on JT feel that there is no risk when eating food from the contaminated waters around Fukushima, but I say why take that chance? Do you really need to eat it? Then again if they feel the need to prove a point they should by all means eat the food. Show us how "smart" they really are. I look forward to the "results."

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I bought a portable radiation measurer online through Amazon. I check and test fish and meat myself, I will not trust any of these people. These are the same group of people that told us right after the disaster that there is no cause for alarm and these are the same people that tell us not to worry about Nuclear energy. No, thanks! I'm not taking any chances! These people want to think the public is stupid, but If you take some precautions, you don't have to be a full and believe their BS, think for yourself and for your family.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

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