The Nagasaki Prefectural Government and the central government remained at loggerheads Wednesday over a proposal to temporarily halt a reclamation project and open a dike across Isahaya Bay, government officials said Wednesday.

The two governments' inability to agree was confirmed during a meeting between the minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries, Yoshio Yatsu, and Nagasaki Gov. Genjiro Kaneko, the officials said.

The governor called on Yatsu a day after the farm minister expressed his willingness to suspend the Isahaya Bay reclamation work in order to analyze the quality of water in the 1,710-hectare reservoir behind the dike.

Yatsu has asserted that it is necessary to suspend the work to carry out the analysis.

But Kaneko handed Yatsu a document specifying a resolution adopted by the Nagasaki Prefectural Assembly in a vote on Tuesday night, demanding that the central government continue the reclamation work.

"We cannot accept a suspension of the reclamation work," Kaneko was quoted as telling Yatsu.

In response, Yatsu was quoted as telling Kaneko, "I want you to rethink your position."

Yatsu on Friday expressed his readiness to open the gates of the 7,050-meter-long dike, which cuts off part of the bay from the Ariake Sea.

The reclamation project is designed to create 1,840 hectares of farmland.

Local seaweed farmers, however, have been demanding that the government halt the project and open the gates, claiming that the dike is responsible for the season's poor seaweed crop.

The farmers allege the sea has been polluted by the inflow of nutrient-rich waters from inside the huge reservoir.

But fishermen in the prefecture's four fishing cooperatives oppose the opening of the gates, saying that it would stir up sludge accumulated at the bottom of the reservoir and inflict damage on the entire fishing industry in the Ariake Sea.

On Friday, a 15-member advisory council to the ministry recommended that the government gather data on what would happen to the quality of water in the reservoir should the work be allowed to continue, and also on what would happen should it be halted.

Along with Kaneko, the prefectural assembly opposes a halt to the reclamation work, fearing that even a temporary stoppage might lead to the permanent opening of the flood gates.

Isahaya Bay is part of the Ariake Sea -- a practically landlocked mass of water encircled by the prefectures of Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Saga and Fukuoka.

Nori seaweed is a common ingredient in Japanese cooking and is used as wrapping for some types of sushi. Nori from the Ariake Sea is one of the most famous varieties.