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MORE trouble appears to be on the horizon for Japan's beleaguered fishing industry, following the country's disastrous earthquake two months ago.
Greenpeace has said that the radioactive leaks are continuing to seriously affect fish and other marine life. According to fresh information released by the environmental group high levels of contamination have been found in fish, shellfish, and seaweed from samples taken 12 miles off the coast of the Fukushima plant.
Analysis by laboratories in France and Belgium found high levels of radioactive iodine and radioactive cesium in seafood, according to Greenpeace. Contamination levels were highest in seaweed samples, which contained radiation 50 times higher than official limits.
The quake and the follow up tsunami has killed an estimated 250,000 people and devastated a number of important fishing ports in the north of the country. It has also shattered confidence in the fishing industry at large with many Japanese choosing to eat only imported fish.
Greenpeace Radiation spokesman Jan Van Putte said: "Our data shows that significant amounts of contamination continue to spread over great distances from the Fukushima nuclear plant. Radioactive hazards are not decreasing through dilution or dispersion, but the radioactivity is instead accumulating in marine life."
Greenpeace has also been critical of the way the Japanese authorities are handling the crisis which shows no signs of going away. There are reports of further leaks of radioactive water in the region. The Japanese Government refutes Greenpeace's claims, saying it carries out regular checks on fish and has banned its fishermen from certain areas of the country.
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