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Oysters harvested in Miyagi after two years

36 Comments

The Karakuwa peninsula in Miyagi Prefecture, which was devastated by the tsunami on March 11, 2011, held an oyster-tasting event to celebrate the first oyster harvest in two years.

Many visitors, including those from Sendai and outside the prefecture, enjoyed the taste of fresh oysters at Sunday's event, Sankei Shimbun reported. A local tourism association spokesman said the visitors' support gave them hope that the industry could make a full recovery.

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36 Comments
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Very comforting news.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Eeeeeeeeeeeeh!!!! Are they sure about this? I LOVE oysters but not sure I would be eating them from up there.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

What's the problem folks? They are fresh, and they are delicious. Say no more! Gulp, gulp. Heaven!

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

Strange that a press release about this does not contain any answer to the question on every ones mind. I assume that they are under legal limit for radiation, but some reassuring info would perhaps help the sell?

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Im not looking to glow in the dark, better pass

3 ( +5 / -2 )

SquidBert, ssshhh... don't mention that word!

2 ( +2 / -0 )

nandakandamanada, "press release" ???

0 ( +1 / -1 )

wow, you have got to be a hard core fan of miyagi oysters to be eating them right now, or even in a decades time.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Great news.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Not a word about testing for radioactive isotopes? Come on... The life cycle of oysters makes this a necessity.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Any time anyone questions the safety of these products, they get that "anti-Japanese," "anti-Tohoku" label. It's heartbreaking for the farmers, fishermen of the area but we need to know that these are really safe and good science is badly needed. It seems everything in the region is haphazardly tested or not at all. Until we know for sure (ideally an international body doing the testing, untainted by Japanese politics) I'm not buying.

6 ( +7 / -1 )

Fresh oysters can be delicious, but the question that is not addressed one bit in this story is if they are safe.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Oysters are stationary, and oysters filter whatever particles are in the water. This is not the kind of food I would like to eat from an area where there is concern about contamination.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

AGAIN a total disregard for health JUST profit.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

It's miles away from Fukushima, right up at the top end of Miyagi. Unlike some species of fish, you can be sure that these oysters have not been feeding off the small significantly contaminated area of sea bed right beside the NPP.

-5 ( +0 / -5 )

Maybe they should watch this before eating anything from the ocean floor on the Pacific coast.

Top scientist suggests contaminated water is actively being pumped out to ocean from Fukushima plant -Reuters

http://enenews.com/reuters-top-scientist-suggests-water-is-actively-being-pumped-out-into-ocean-from-fukushima-plant-video

1 ( +3 / -2 )

MikeCritchley:

Your link points to an antinuclear activist website. On the same website, they are also claiming that Tokyo is so contaminated that it is uninhabitable, that reactor building no. 3 is collapsing as we speak, and so on and so forth.

Surely you are not claiming that your source is unbiased.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

@WilliB,

In this specific case, they are just quoting Reuters who are supposed to be rather unbiased. In fact, if anything, I think Reuters has shown a slight pro nuclear bias over the last year or so.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I have no input on whether the quoted scientist is right or not. But clearly there are still sources of radiation that has not been accounted for.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I would have that smiling and chewing would be second nature for everyone by now? Smile and chew and all will be well.......

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Let the Japanese eat their oysters/live in their ignorance, while TEPCO continues to leak radiation into the sea.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It's disappointing that the article doesn't mention any radiation figures and it's natural to err on the side of caution until there are some figures out there. However a quick google (and it was very quick) shows that the ocean currents from that side of Japan would suggest that the oysters won't be as effected as you would think.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Japan's_ocean_currents.PNG

However, it's totally understandable that people want actual figures. Unfortunately though, it's highly likely that people won't believe them if they're positive because Miyagi is linked to Fukushima because of the tsunami despite the fact that there's a lot of distance between this part of Miyagi and the nuclear power plant.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Sooo... can we look forward to extremely rare pearls that faintly glow? Oysters (like all bivalves) do a great job of filtering the water. Things are going to collect.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

not unless you are more than 70 years old. Chronic radiation will not be a problem as the cells are not actively reproducing and the chances of getting radiation induced radiation is nil. GO OJISAMA.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

My guess is ZERO testing done

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Heda_Madness,

Even though currents move in a specific direction along the coast, water 'swirls' back. See this link for example.

http://www.naturalnews.com/images/Radioactive-Seawater-Impact-Map-March-2012.jpg

I don't have any information on the radiation levels in the area discussed. But you can not oversimplify and say just because ocean currents move south, there will be little to no pollution.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I didn't. I simply said that you can't link this area of Miyagi (approximately 150 km away from DaiIchi) with Fukushima just because they were both affected by the tsunami. I stated that there should be more information in the article giving figures but there isn't.

And your map is very, very pretty but given that it doesn't include a single figure, it doesn't actually prove anything. It needs some kind of key to show what the pretty colours mean.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

And your map is very, very pretty but given that it doesn't include a single figure, it doesn't actually prove anything.

No need to be condescending.

I included the map, to illustrate what a current simulation for the affected area does to relative concentrations.

As I said I don't have any information to give on the rad levels.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It wasn't intended to be condescending, it was however to highlight that without a figure it's worthless.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Do the have green lips?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

There is an interactive map here: http://www.pref.miyagi.jp/syokushin/nuclear/map/index.html#ishinomaki

...giving two, ie iodine and caesium sets of radiation figures for Miyagi products at the end of October, if you can figure out how to get it to work.

Oysters in a place called 角田Sumida? showed zero radioactive Iodine but 13 becqurels per kilogram of caesium, where by law 5,000 are allowed for Iodine and 200 for Caesium.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

PS Many of these have not been updated. The left two columns show a) the day on which the collection and testing took place and b) the day the results were announced. Some were done last year and some this year.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

i appreciate concerns about radiation, but the thing i'm more concerned about is the multitude of other things washed into the sea that horrible day, that have become part of the diet of our friends in the sea. think about it...whole towns, cars, machinery, housing and all the bits and pieces therein, metals, oils, etc.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

@Stuarto,

Not sure why you are getting voted down, your concerns are equally valid, as the concerns about nuclear pollution. Lots of factory equipment and stored chemicals washed out to sea as well. In addition to keep checking the rad values, government should also be proactive and check for various heavy metals and other pollutants.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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