The Cabinet on May 25 endorsed a white book on fisheries for fiscal 2011. As the white book points out, it is important to revitalize fisheries in the Pacific coastal areas of the Tohoku region, which greatly suffered from the 3/11 earthquake and tsunami and the subsequent Fukushima nuclear crisis. Reviving the fisheries will not only help strengthen local economies in the region but also help to stabilize the supply of fishery products for the entire nation.
It is hoped that the government will provide necessary support to fishermen who are striving to revitalize the fisheries.
As of March 5, 2012, Japan's fisheries suffered disaster-related losses amounting to ¥1.263 trillion. Some 29,000 fishing boats were seriously damaged, but by April about 8,400 of them were repaired. In March, fishing catches in Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures rebounded to some 17,000 tons or 78 percent of the level in March 2011. The monetary value of the month's catch was ¥2.2 billion, or 84 percent of the March 2011 level. In addition, about half of the 831 damaged fisheries products processing facilities in the three prefectures were restored.