Soma Futaba fisheries cooperative, which covers the northern part of the prefecture, told reporters Thursday it would stop trial operation at the end of August due to leakage of radioactive water into the sea from the Fukushima Daiichi plant.
Earlier in the day, another cooperative covering the southern part of the prefecture also canceled their test operation initially set for September 5 for an indefinite period.
According to Kyodo News, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Tuesday that at least 300 tons of highly radioactive water were leaked from one of the storage tanks at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, while one day later, the plant operator said highly radioactive water that leaked from the tank could have flowed into the adjacent Pacific Ocean through drainage channels.
The Soma Futaba cooperative started the trial operation off the coast of Soma city in June 2012 after the nuclear crisis caused by a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March 2011.
