MIYAKO, Iwate -- Local oyster growers are preparing to restore their business after their beds were destroyed by a massive tsunami triggered by the March 11 killer quake.
"It'll take several years before I can ship oysters, but I'm sure I'll resume my business," says one of them, 54-year-old Yukinobu Yamane.
The tsunami swept away farming beds for about 10,000 hanamikaki oysters in Miyako Bay shortly before they were set to be shipped. The farmers also lost their fishing boats to the tsunami.
The oyster farmers had planned to ship their products for a special excursion and oyster-tasting train that was to be operated on the Sanriku Railway's North Rias Line on April 21.
There is no prospect that seven other oyster farmers in Miyako can resume their business because they have lost the equipment and boats necessary to install and maintain oyster beds.
Farmers in Miyagi Prefecture that raised alevin oysters were also hit by the disaster. Still, the farmers are preparing to rebuild oyster beds using materials and equipment that remain following the disaster
On April 25, two workers from a restaurant that serve oysters produced by Yamane visited the beach near his farm to help clean up rubble.
"Many of our customers enjoy eating the oysters he produces. We'd like him to resume his business as soon as possible," one of them said.
Yamane and six other farmers raise Japanese oysters -- which are usually harvested by January -- for the cherry-blossom viewing period in spring and ship them as hanamikaki, which literally means "flower-viewing oysters."
Hanamikaki grow to twice the size of ordinary oysters because they absorb a larger amount of nutrition in preparation to lay eggs in summer. Yamane and others developed hanamikaki as a local specialty.
(Mainichi Japan) April 27, 2011
東日本大震災：「花見かき」消さぬ 宮古湾で養殖場全滅
例年なら今の桜の時期に出回る岩手県宮古湾特産の大粒カキ「花見かき」が、東日本大震災による津波で全滅した。種ガキを生産する宮城県も被災したため復活は容易ではないが、宮古市の山根幸伸さん（５４）ら生産者は再起に向けて歩みを始めた。
津波は湾の奥にあった養殖棚を押し流し、採取直前だったカキ約１万粒を奪った。来春に採るカキや再来年用の種ガキも失い、漁船も流失した。予定では、今月２１日に三陸鉄道北リアス線に走らせる恒例の「花見かき列車」で提供するのを皮切りに、出荷を始めるはずだった。
生産者は山根さんら７人。種ガキを購入している宮城県石巻市などの養殖場が被災し、養殖棚を整備する資材や船もないため、今後の見通しはまったく立たない。それでも、いつからでも養殖が再開できるよう、残った資材などを活用して養殖施設の準備だけは進める。
２５日は山根さんのカキを季節限定のメニューに加えてきた盛岡市のレストラン関係者２人が駆け付け、海岸清掃を手伝った。２人は「おいしいとお客さんからとても喜ばれている。一日も早く立ち上がって」とエール。山根さんは「出荷するのに数年掛かるが、必ず復活する」と力を込めた。
「花見かき」は通常なら１月ごろで出荷を終えるマガキを、桜の花見時期まで育て続ける。夏の産卵に備えて栄養分がたっぷり吸収され、実が２倍近くまで大きくなる。「カキは春が旬」と山根さんらが宮古の特産として開発した。【鬼山親芳】
英訳毎日新聞 2011年4月27日 12時08分（最終更新 4月27日 13時02分）
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