Noryangjin Fish Market Merchants Association President, KBS Radio Interview
"Nightmare Recalled from 2011 Nuclear Accident"
Merchants Association to Monitor Sales and Respond After Discharge
Cha Deok-ho, chairman of the Seoul Noryangjin Fish Market Merchants Association, said that there were more customers visiting the fish market than expected on the first weekend after the start of the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan. He stated, "Compared to last weekend (19th-20th), sales this weekend (26th-27th) increased by 1.5 to 2 times."
Although the fishing industry was expected to suffer a major blow after the contaminated water discharge began on the 24th, there has been no noticeable impact so far.
In an interview with KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' on the 28th, Chairman Cha said, "Since the discharge on the 24th, we need to monitor for at least a week to know the exact effects, but seasonal seafood such as blue crabs, gizzard shad, and live shrimp appeared simultaneously, and many customers wanted to eat them," adding, "Sales of live fish have increased significantly."
According to Chairman Cha, customers visiting the fish market can be divided into two groups.
One group wants to eat seafood before the discharged contaminated water affects it, and the other group does not care about the impact of the contaminated water discharge. Chairman Cha said, "It will be necessary to monitor sales trends for one week to a month," and added, "Some customers wanted to eat before contamination, while others said, 'It's okay, I don't care.'"
The fishing industry also suffered a major blow during the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant accident in March 2011. Chairman Cha said, "When the nuclear accident happened in 2011, merchants learned a lesson. For a whole week, there were no customers at all," and added, "Even though merchants only sold domestic products, there were no customers. The current situation is much better than back then."
However, Chairman Cha also expressed concern, saying, "Because the nightmare of that time resurfaces, I worry about how long this will last," and "Our livelihood depends on this, and if consumers turn away, we may have to close down, so that is our biggest concern."
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