NARAHA, Fukushima -- Full-scale salmon fishing resumed in the Kidogawa river in Naraha, Fukushima Prefecture, last month, five years after the outbreak of the 2011 nuclear crisis. The sight of salmon splashing in the river has renewed the determination of the fishermen to restore both their profession and their hometown.
　In September the government lifted the evacuation order issued for the town in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and the resulting nuclear crisis at Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant.
　On Oct. 18, fishermen caught about 120 salmon, from which no radioactive substances were detected. The Kidogawa local fishermen's cooperative said it aims to start selling processed salmon products as early as the middle of this month.

　東京電力福島第１原発事故による避難指示が９月に解除された楢葉町の木戸川で１０月１８日、東日本大震災と原発事故以降中断していたサケ漁が５年ぶりに本格再開された。この日は約１２０匹が捕獲され、検査の結果、放射性物質は検出されなかった。木戸川漁協は１１月中旬にも、サケの加工品販売開始を目指すとしている。漁に参加した関係者は、勢いよく水しぶきを上げるサケに、漁の復活と町の復興に向けた思いを新たにした。

　The fishermen caught the salmon using a method called awase-ryo, in which the fish are driven into a net as they travel upstream. Rookie fisherman Kentaro Aoki, 26, lent his unpracticed hand to the hauling efforts together with other, experienced fishermen. He began to work for the cooperative in February.

　木戸川では、漁協関係者が遡上（そじょう）するサケを川上から網で追い込む「合わせ漁」が威勢よく行われた。ベテラン漁業者に交じって、同漁協に２月に就職した同町出身の新人青木健太朗さん（２５）も、慣れない手つきで網をたぐった。

　Before the earthquake, about 70,000 salmon ran the Kidogawa river each year, making it one of the best rivers in Honshu to observe large-scale salmon runs. Salmon and the river were an integral part of Aoki's life from an early age, but he said, "They were so close that I didn't given them much thought."

　木戸川は毎年約７万匹のサケが遡上し、震災前は本州有数の規模を誇った。青木さんにとってもサケや同川は小さなころから身近な存在だったが、「身近すぎてあまり関心がなかった」と話す。

　After the 2011 disaster, Aoki became a car salesman in the nearby city of Iwaki. He began to think more about his hometown when an acquaintance told him about the prospect of a job in the fishermen's cooperative. With a simple decision -- "I wanted to work for my hometown," he said -- he embarked on a way of life he had never before experienced. Aoki has spent his days ever since learning about the river and its bounty of salmon.

　震災後はいわき市で自動車販売の仕事に就いたが、知人に同漁協職員の職を紹介されたことが、故郷についてあらためて考えるきっかけとなった。「古里のために働いてみたい」。思い切って未経験の世界に飛び込み、今は川やサケについて勉強する日々を過ごしている。

　"I'm happy we can resume the salmon catch, since it's our main business," said Hideo Matsumoto, 67, the head of the cooperative. He cheered Aoki on, saying, "I hope young people will grow up to be big and strong like salmon." Kentaro Suzuki, 33, Aoki's superior and the chief of a hatchery, has high expectations for the young man, saying, "He's a rising star in our town."

　「本業のサケ漁を再開することができうれしい」とこの日を喜んだ松本秀夫組合長（６７）は「若い力がサケと同じように大きく育ってほしい」と青木さんにエールを送る。青木さんの上司でふ化場長鈴木謙太郎さん（３３）も「地元の期待の星」と期待を寄せる。

　Aoki caught flouncing salmon in his arms for the first time and observed the skill with which senior cooperative members hauled in the net.
　"All of us look so happy when we haul in a net. I realized we really like salmon," Aoki said. The day's catch was about one-fourth the average pre-earthquake level, but that did little to dampen his sense of fulfillment.
　"I'll try to make the largest catch in Honshu to satisfy the hopes of those who are looking forward to eating salmon," Aoki said.

　手際よく網を操り、サケを捕まえる組合員や先輩の姿を見ながら、青木さんも初めて、勢いよくはねるサケを抱えた。「みんな網を握るとうれしそうで、本当にサケが好きなんだなとあらためて思った」。この日の漁獲量は震災前に比べると約４分の１。「サケを楽しみにしていた人たちの希望をかなえるよう、本州一の漁獲量を目指したい」。初の漁を終えた顔に、充実感をみなぎらせた。

　Important tourism resources

　Prior to the salmon haul, a festival was held to pray for the safety of the fishermen near the Kidogawa river in the Maebara district of Naraha. A ceremony was also held to mark the start of reconstruction work on parts of two facilities damaged by the tsunami that followed the 2011 earthquake -- a salmon hatchery and a facility to process agriculture, forestry and marine products.

　重要な観光資源

　漁に先立ち、サケ漁安全祈願祭と、津波で被災し復旧されたサケふ化施設・農林水産物処理加工施設の一部起工式は木戸川近くの楢葉町前原で行われた。

　"Our town's important tourism resources were restored," Naraha Mayor Yukiei Matsumoto said during the ceremony. "I want many people to visit here."

　起工式で松本幸英町長は「町の重要な観光資源が復旧された。多くの人にもう一度足を運んでほしい」とあいさつした。

　A yanaba weir was completed in March, while a portion of the reconstruction work for the hatchery and the processing facility was finished last month. The processing facility has a device to check radioactive substances.
　Salmon fry will be released in the river next spring. All facilities are expected to be completed by March next year and will begin operation as soon as they are ready.

（　Translated by The Japan News　）

　やな場は３月に完成、１８日までにふ化施設と加工施設の復旧工事が一部完了した。加工施設には放射性物質の測定装置も整備された。ふ化場では今月末にも採卵を始め、来春に稚魚を放流する。各施設は来年３月までに完成する見込みで、順次稼働する。

　【　２０１５年１０月１９日・本紙掲載　】