“This is truly catastrophic.” Hiroshima’s oyster farmers face an unprecedented crisis due to an inexplicable mass die-off of the region’s bivalves — which has already killed 90% of the region’s oysters.
The famous oyster industry in Hiroshima prefecture in western Japan, responsible for around 60% of the country’s production, is being hit by a catastrophic blow due to mass deaths on farms cultivating these bivalve molluscs.
According to local authorities, oyster farmers in the coastal areas of the city of Higashihiroshima recorded mortality rates between 80% e 90%.
The cause of this high mortality remains to be determined, and those responsible are investigating whether the losses are due to increase in temperature of sea water, a decrease in precipitation or other environmental factorssays .
The country’s Minister of Agriculture, Norikazu Suzukiwho visited an oyster processing plant in Higashihiroshima on Wednesday, stated that the Government will act quickly to investigate the causes and consider financial support measures.
“Less than 10% of oysters are still alive”, reports Tatsuya Morio49 years old, owner of an oyster production and sales company in the city. Given what he described as a almost total losstook stock of the damage to the minister.
After meeting with local producers, the minister declared that “the situation is extremely serious. I want to present as quickly as possible what type of support could be made available under the current legal framework.”
“This is truly catastrophic level“, said the governor of Hiroshima on Thursday, Hidehiko Yuzakiafter the meeting with Suzuki.
A neighboring city of Kure was also heavily affected. On the producer’s farm Shuji Yamane50 years ago, more than 90% of the oysters harvested were dead. “We can’t even accept orders for the end of the year. We live with anxiety every day”, he lamented.
At the end of October, the city temporarily suspended applications for the system furusato nōzei (tax donation to the homeland), which offers fresh oysters as a reward.
Since then, authorities have contacted donorswhich had already carried out 1,738 contributionsproposing alternatives such as frozen oysters or canceling shipping.
According to the , cases of mass oyster deaths have also been reported in parts of the neighboring province of Okayamaas well as in the province of Hyogoand trick.
The three affected provinces, representing around 80% of the 89 thousand tons of oysters produced annually in Japan, overlook the Seto Inland Seawhich separates Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, three of Japan’s four main islands.
However, the sharp drop in supply is raising concerns about the likely increase in prices. A popular oyster restaurant in the Minami neighborhood, in the city of Hiroshima, said that “for now, the supply is assured”, but highlighted that the high season requires around a ton of oysters per month.
“I worry about whether we will actually be able to guarantee oysters and whether prices will skyrocket”, confessed the person responsible for the establishment.
