Fishery cooperatives in the three northeastern prefectures hit hardest by the 2011 tsunami and nuclear disasters have suffered a 23 percent fall in members, a Kyodo News survey showed Wednesday.
The decline was most pronounced in Miyagi Prefecture, with the number of full members sliding to about two-thirds the level before the disaster.
The survey, covering Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures, showed that many in the industry may have let their memberships lapse because they lost their boats or facilities and felt it impossible to rebuild their businesses.