Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Accident on Fish and Fishing Grounds

This book presents the results from the Fisheries Research Agency s 3-year intensive monitoring of radionuclide in a variety of fish, plankton, benthos and their living environments after the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant (FNPP) accident in March 2011. The book reveals the dynamics of contamination processes in marine and freshwater fish, mediated by the contamination of water, sediments, and food organisms; and also clarifies the mechanisms by which large variations in the level of contamination occurs among individual fish. Most importantly, the book includes a large amount of original measurement data collected in situ and for the first time assesses diffusion of radiocesium across the Pacific using both in situ data and a numerical simulation model. The book also introduces several new approaches to evaluate the impact of radionuclide release, including the measurement of radiation emission from an otolith section to identify the main period of contamination in the fish. The FNPP accident represents a rare example where the environmental radioactivity level was elevated steeply through the atmospheric fallout and direct discharge of radioactive water into the sea over a short period of time. Replete with precise scientific data, this book will serve as an important resource for researches in fields such as fishery science, oceanography, ecology and environmentology, and also as a solid basis for protecting fisheries from damage resulting from harmful rumors among the general public.§