Some restaurants in Japan's Fukushima prefecture have come out with seafood delicacies made of locally caught fish for the first time since the nuclear accident 15 months ago.
Fishing in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the prefecture was allowed on a trial basis for one type of shellfish and two types of octopus. No radiation was detected in the catch and it went on sale in the city of Soma on Monday, Japanese media reported on Tuesday.
One restaurant in the city bought 15 kilograms of the octopus to serve as sashimi and in other popular dishes of the region. Since the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, the restaurant has had to buy octopus from Akita prefecture on the Sea of Japan coast.
The fresh, local octopus was welcomed by patrons. One customer said it was delicious and that he hoped other local varieties of seafood would become available soon.
Fishermen in Fukushima are planning a second trial expedition on Wednesday. They hope to eventually be able to ship their catch to Tokyo and other large cities, after gauging consumer response.
The Fukushima nuclear power plant, operated by the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), was heavily damaged in the March, 2011 quake-triggered tsunami, leaking radiation into the atmosphere and the Pacific Ocean. Residents in the plant's 20-kilometer radius were evacuated.
The massive tsunami left nearly 20,000 people dead or missing besides wreaking havoc on Japan's northeast.
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