Farmed tuna die in wake of typhoon
Around 11,000 farmed bluefin tuna died off the coast of the Pacific coastal town of Kushimoto, Wakayama Prefecture, after a powerful typhoon made landfall in western Japan earlier this month and wreaked havoc throughout a large chunk of the region, the prefectural government announced Friday.
The loss of the bluefin tuna — a pricey delicacy served as sushi — cost growers almost ¥1.3 billion, according to the local government. The town also suffered ¥300 million in damage to aquaculture facilities.
Typhoon Nangka landed in Kochi Prefecture, west of Wakayama, on the night of July 16 and slowly moved northward before turning into a tropical depression in the early hours of July 18.
The Wakayama government estimates prefecturewide damage to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries came to almost ¥2.4 billion.