December 11, 2021 16th Dialogue meeting was held at Koriyama City.
Date & Time
December 11, 2021, Sat.1:00 pm to 4:30 pm
Venue
Big-I 7th floor,and Zoom
Topics
Current status of inland water fisheries ten years after the Fukushima accident and efforts toward the recovery of fisheries activities.
(KAMIYAMA Junichi: Research manager of Fukushima Prefectural Inland Water Fisheries Exp. Stn.)
New threat of Abukuma River: distribution and migration ecology of introduced catfish
(WADA Toshihiro: Associate Professor, IER)
Introduction a project of “Koi ni Koisuru Koriyama” (Koriyama in love with Carp)
(NANBA Kenji: Directior/Professor, IER)
Boosting Fukushima from the River
(TSUBOI Junichi: Senior Researcher, National Research Institute of Fisheries Science, National Institute of Fisheries Research and Education)
The Great East Japan Earthquake and Radioactivity: A decade from the river
(HORIE Kiyoshi: Secretary General, Abukuma River Fishery Cooperative)
*Program order
Since 2016, we have been organizing dialogue meetings to feedback our research results to local communities. The 16th Dialogue meeting was held with five speakers under the theme of ”The last 10 years and the future of the Abukuma River:-Towards the revitalization of fisheries and local communities-”. The speakers gave presentations on current status, challenges, and future prospects of the Abukuma River, where some fishing activities (e.g., Ayu fishing) have resumed for the first time in 10 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake. This event was simultaneously broadcasted online, and a total of about 60 people participated in both online and at the venue.
Manager KAMIYAMA explained that the radiocesium contamination levels in freshwater fish in the Abukuma River system have been decreasing over the years, but the rate of decrease is slowing down, and that freshwater fish are more likely to store radiocesium than marine fish, resulting in relatively high levels in some cases. He also introduced the efforts to raise “Fishable Ayu” to revitalize the rivers in Fukushima.
Associate Professor WADA gave a presentation on a new threat in Abukuma River: non-native channel catfish. Channel catfish were imported from the U.S. for aquaculture purpose, but the recent study has revealed the drastic changes in fish species composition due to their proliferation in dam areas of Abukuma River. He also introduced the recent study using biotelemetry method that revealed the migration ecology and spawning sites of the catfish in the Shinobu Dam area, and pointed out the future issues such as confirming spawning sites outside the dam area.
Director NANBA introduced Koriyama City’s project to promote carp cuisine, “Koi ni Koisuru Koriyama (Koriyama in love with carp)”, and a song of the project “Dokkoi song ~Sosui de Sweet na Koi no Uta~ (Sweet Carp Song of Love on the Canal)” that is being released on Koriyama City’s YouTube Channel.
Researcher TSUBOI presented the results of his research conducted in several rivers in Fukushima Prefecture on how Ayu (plecoglossus) take radiocesium, and explained that Ayu eat algae (food) attached to stones, which helps to clean the river. He also presented the countermeasures against great cormorant, a natural enemy of ayu. He finally introduced his own efforts to promote leisure activities on rivers through books, websites, and YouTube channel.
Secretary HORIE explained the impact of the nuclear power plant accident using a map of Fukushima on the linig of his suit (photo ②). He compared the situation of the Abukuma River Fishery Cooperative 40 years ago and now, and said that although the situation is severe (drastic decrease in number of members, especially after the accident), the number of members has increased due to the effectiveness of the recent campaign, and that in the future, he would like to revitalize the fishery cooperative by involving children and younger generation in their 30s and 40s.
After each presentation and during the time for exchanging opinions, various opinions and questions were raised, such as “how to create opportunities for children to come into contact with the river,” with concerns about young people leaving the river, and a lively discussion took place.
The article was posted on News Topics of Fukushima University Website !
Secretary HORIE, Associate Professor WADA
(Mr. TSUBOI is not in this photo)
Abukuma River Fishery Cooperative,
scene of the presentation
