Fishery Damage from Tonga Eruption Reported across Japan

Tokyo, Jan. 21 (Jiji Press)--Fishery damage from a tsunami triggered by the recent eruption of an undersea volcano off the southern Pacific islands of Tonga has been reported in 10 prefectures across Japan, the Fisheries Agency said Friday. The agency is examining the amount of the damage, including the capsizing of fishing boats and the mass death of horse mackerel. A total of 37 fishing boats were capsized or damaged by the tsunami in five prefectures, including the northeastern prefecture of Miyagi and the western prefectures of Tokushima and Kochi, according to reports as of 2 p.m. (5 a.m. GMT) Thursday. In the southwestern prefecture of Miyazaki, about 70,000 horse mackerel for feeding to tuna died. In the southernmost prefecture of Okinawa, a total of some 20 tons of mozuku seaweed were washed away and cannot be shipped. Damage to aquaculture facilities was confirmed in six prefectures, including the northeastern prefecture of Iwate and the central prefecture of Mie, as well as Miyagi. The number of damaged facilities, including those for wakame seaweed in Miyagi and scallops in Iwate, is not yet known. "We need to pay close attention to the damage while working to figure out the overall situation," fisheries minister Genjiro Kaneko told a news conference on Friday. END