The Fukuoka High Court has ruled that the floodgates of a dike at Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture should remain closed, ruling in favor of the central government in a protracted legal battle over a land reclamation project that has been opposed by local fishermen.

The judgement will end a situation in which the government faced conflicting court decisions — a 2010 ruling that ordered it to open the floodgates and a 2013 injunction opposing the move.

The floodgates of the 7-km-long dike that encloses part of the Ariake Sea have been shut since 1997 for the government-authorized land reclamation project requested by Nagasaki Prefecture. It created 670 hectares of farmland and a reservoir for use in farming at a cost of ¥253 billion.