Thousands of tons of dead fish wash ashore in Japan

The Daily Mail is reporting that "Thousands of tons of dead fish have washed up on a beach in northern Japan, prompting speculation that the release of treated radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear plant has wrought havoc on local ecosystems. The sardines and some mackerel washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, creating an unsettling sliver blanket that covered almost a mile of shoreline."

Thousands of tons of dead fish. That's a lot. "The sardines and some mackerel washed ashore in Hakodate on Japan's northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Thursday morning, creating an unsettling sliver blanket that covered almost a mile of shoreline." A blanket of dead fish a mile long. "Officials could not come up with an explanation for the phenomenon, but Takashi Fujioka, a Hakodate Fisheries Research Institute researcher, posited a number of theories as to why the fish could have died en-masse. He said they may have become exhausted due to a lack of oxygen while moving in a densely packed school in shallow waters, or may have suddenly entered cold waters during their migration and succumbed to shock." That's pretty fishy.

"There have been several recorded cases of similar phenomena springing up on several parts of Japan's coastline. But this particular phenomenon occurred just three months after Japanese authorities began releasing treated radioactive water back into the sea - a move which angered its neighbours including China and South Korea." Releasing radioactive water into the ocean is not a good idea. It's actually really irresponsible. Although the tsunami and rector meltdown happened a long time ago the release of radioactive water was recent.

This reiterates my position that nuclear power is not green and is not safe. Nuclear waste from reactors is virtually impossible to safely dispose of. I support hydro electric power.

In July the Guardian reported that "A fish living near drainage outlets at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in May contained levels of radioactive cesium that are 180 times Japan’s safety limit. The black rockfish caught on 18 May was found by plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) to have 18,000 becquerels per kilogram of cesium-137, compared with the legal maximum level of 100 becquerels per kg. Japan’s plan to release 1.3m tonnes of treated water from the Fukushima plant has sparked concern in the region, despite approval from the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Hong Kong has threatened to ban food imports from 10 Japanese prefectures if the water release goes ahead as planned."

"A total of 44 fish with cesium levels above 100 becquerels per kg have been found in the Fukushima plant port between May 2022 and May 2023, Tepco confirmed, with 90% of those caught in or near the inner breakwater. Other specimens identified as having particularly high radioactivity were an eel with 1,700 becquerels per kg, caught in June 2022, and rock trout, with 1,200 becquerels in April 2023." I was joking about radioactive sushi but now that concern is real.