Another group of Fukushima Prefecture fishermen restarted operations on a trial basis Friday for the first time since the nuclear plant disaster began in March 2011.
The move by a fisheries cooperative based in the prefecture's southern district of Iwaki came after the Soma Futaba cooperative in the north began trial fishing in June 2012, although it suspended operations for a month until late September due to a radioactive water spill into the sea at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, which suffered three reactor core meltdowns.
Iwaki fishermen will catch only eight types of seafood at a depth of more than 150 meters, including North Pacific giant octopus. Their catches were to go on the market Saturday at the earliest, after radiation safety checks.