Radiation fears severely damaging South Korea’s seafood traders
Fish Is Off the Menu in South Korea Over Radiation Fears Koreans Avoid Seafood Over Fears of Fukushima Contamination, WSJ, By KWANWOO JUN 14 Nov 13, SEOUL—”There
have been no buyers yet,” said fish trader Choi Mi-ja as the clock
ticked toward 3 p.m., some 10 hours after her store at the Noryangjin
Fisheries Wholesale Market opened for the day.
“In 26 years in this business, I’ve never seen anything like this
before,” Ms. Choi added, standing by tanks where live, locally bred
flatfish and Russian-imported king crabs were displayed.
Ms. Choi’s predicament provides a taste of the psychological impact
of Japan’s nuclear crisis on South Korea’s seafood industry. Sales of
marine products have plummeted in recent months as three out of every
four Koreans say they have cut back on fish consumption following leaks
of radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in
Japan.
The fears come despite Seoul imposing some of the toughest
restrictions on seafood imports from Japan. Since September, it has
blocked all fishery imports from eight prefectures surrounding the
Fukushima Daiichi plant, on Japan’s Pacific coast.
Around 80% of seafood consumed in South Korea is caught locally,
where there is no evidence of any impact from the nuclear disaster.
Despite the facts, many Koreans are shunning seafood……..http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303289904579196893701088208
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