Fishermen on 300 boats protest over Isahaya dike issue

Japan Press Weekly

Japan Press Service Co., Ltd. is the only news agency providing information of progressive, democratic movements in Japan

Fishermen on 300 boats protest over Isahaya dike issue

Over 300 fishing boats from four northern prefectures in Kyushu on September 10 were involved in an on-sea demonstration to protest the government policy of postponing the opening of the sluice gate in the sea dike of Isahaya Bay in Nagasaki Prefecture.

On the pier, about 150 citizens and fishermen gathered to support those on the boats, calling for an immediate opening of the sea dike.

The sea dike, which had been under construction since 1989 allegedly to prevent flooding on reclaimed farmland, was closed in April 1997. Since its closure, fishery on the coast of the Ariake Sea has suffered serious damage, including discolored nori and deteriorated sea water quality. The Saga Distirict Court has ordered the state to open the dike.

The on-sea protest was called by the Ariake Sea fishery cooperatives in Saga Prefecture.

In the rally on the pier, an 80-year-old member of the Isahaya Citizens' Association reported on the association's ongoing activity of collecting 10,000 signatures to save the life-abundant sea and submitting them to the Nagasaki prefectural and city assemblies. A Japanese Communist Party member of the prefectural assembly stated that she would continue to speak out for the survival of fishermen there.

A fisherman from Nagasaki said, "The red tide broke out a month earlier than usual, and has even extended to the seabed, a rarity. All the fish and crabs are gone. The administration of the prefecture which boasts of its fishery industry is now working against the interests of fishermen."

- Akahata, September 11, 2010