On 30 July, one of the strongest recorded earthquakes struck in the Pacific near Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula, prompting tsunami warnings across Pacific coastlines. “The oysters were growing well this year, and we were looking forward to winter shipments, so this is a big blow,” the chairman of an oyster farmer cooperative told The Japan News. The company had previously rebuilt its operations following the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami. According to a broadcast by TV Asahi, local fishermen deployed three boats early on 2 August to restore longline oyster culture facilities. The devastating 2011 tsunami was estimated to have caused ¥100 billion in damage to the industry, with oyster and brown seaweed (Undaria pinnatifida) cultivation particularly hard hit.