After a devastating earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan, much of the island nation’s coastline was not touched by the Fukushima nuclear power plant. However, a 2007 report released by the World Wildlife Fund argues that the seafloor surrounding the Fukushima power plant is teeming with biodiversity.
The report states that many species around the plant were entirely unaffected by the disaster; five species are actually at risk of extinction. The organization estimates that fishing will drop by half off southern and central Japan over the next 40 years due to the disaster. Still, it says the fisheries associated with Fukushima are likely to be unaffected.
After the March 2011 disaster, Japan placed strict restrictions on fishing at Fukushima. The facility was found to be at high risk of a catastrophic meltdown following its sister Daiichi facility’s 1995 meltdown. Nearly two years after the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl, nuclear fears in Japan and around the world remain high. For more on the impact of Fukushima and how it will affect fishing, travel and tourism, check out this feature from 2010.