“We want people to be happy that they have Miyagi oysters.” The ban on eating raw oysters will be lifted on October 28, a month later than usual due to rising sea temperatures (10/24/07, 6:22 p.m. )

On October 7, Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, tested the quality of oysters for raw consumption, and the prefectural fisheries cooperative decided to release the batch for this season on October 28. On the 7th, shucked oysters were collected from 39 locations in the prefecture, and prefectural fisheries association staff, producers, buyers and others checked the size, color and spawning status of the oysters. The release date for raw edible oysters produced in the prefecture is September 29 each year, and is subject to adjustments based on growth status. Based on the results of the audit, due to the slowdown in growth this year, we decided to postpone the release date by about a month, to the 28th of this month, as we did last year. Teruki Abe, chairman of the Miyagi Prefectural Fisheries Association Oyster Club: “We would like to produce oysters during the cold season when oyster stocks are recovering, rather than during the warm season (when oyster stocks are poor). The prefectural fisheries association believes the stunted growth is due to seawater temperatures 2 to 3 degrees higher than normal due to exposure to extreme heat.