Photo/Illutration Kinzaburo Shiga in front of his fishing boat at Onahama port in Iwaki, Fukushima Prefecture (Takemichi Nishibori)

IWAKI, Fukushima Prefecture--Kinzaburo Shiga was busy preparing his 19-ton boat, checking his equipment and testing his fishing gear for the Sept. 1 start of the fishing season. He was also bracing for the next threat to his profession.

The government is moving forward with the discharge into the sea of treated radioactive water stored on the grounds of the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.

Fishermen in the Tohoku region fear the negative publicity from the water-release plan will hurt sales of their catches.

“But this is not a matter of whether it is safe scientifically or about money,” Shiga, 76, said.

He said public reaction to the water release could strike at the very heart of his way of living and even his identity.

“I do not want to repeat the experience of not knowing where to release my frustration and sadness,” he said.

Shiga has faced various struggles over the past 12 years since the disaster started at the Fukushima plant.

He was out at sea when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck in March 2011. But he could not return to his home port because of the destroyed homes and boats that the tsunami had swept to shore.

He spent two nights on his fishing boat about 7 kilometers off the coast.

After the triple meltdown, the Fukushima prefectural fisheries cooperative associations decided to refrain from bringing in catch to port.

Shiga cooperated with monitoring efforts to determine if the fish were safe. The checks required about 2 or 3 kilograms of each type of fish.

But even if the catch was just for testing purposes, Shiga did not simply turn over what he caught in a bucket.

He wrapped crabs in paper and cooled them with ice. When he caught deep-water fish, such as “mehikari” (greeneyes), which have soft skin, he placed the fish in barrels filled with ice and water to prevent discoloration or damage.

“I knew it was meaningless,” Shiga said. “But I didn’t want to lose the spirit passed down to me by my father of wanting to deliver the best fish possible.”

In those days, even local supermarkets would not carry fish caught off Fukushima Prefecture.

Trial fishing began in October 2013, allowing some catch to be brought into ports. But the fish did not sell because of negative publicity.

Reflecting on that time, Shiga said, “I could not look the fish in the eye when I knew it would likely be thrown away without being eaten.”

Trial fishing ended in March 2021, but fishermen like Shiga are still in a transition period toward full-fledged operations.

He said fish prices have returned to about 70 percent of what they were before the triple meltdown. Local supermarkets now display many fish caught off Fukushima. He said he was always encouraged when he saw people buy his catch.

He leaves port at about 1 a.m. and heads around 30 km off the coast to reach the fishing grounds.

Family and friends wait for his return to port, and they help unload the catch and take it to the auction site.

“People might say I should ask for compensation if I cannot sell the fish, but I disagree,” Shiga said. “Having my fish rejected is the same as rejecting what I live for as a fisherman as well as my very way of life.”

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