AQUACULTURE
NEW RED SEA BREAM AIP SET FOR ASC ASSESSMENT Kumamoto Prefecture in southern Japan is home to one of the country’s most important aquaculture industries – the farming of red sea bream. Last year, it launched Japan’s first red sea bream Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) and is now ready for the next step, reports Bonnie Waycott
8 The unique red and white colours of red sea bream are considered lucky
Thanks to favourable coastal geography and oceanic conditions, aquaculture in Japan’s Kumamoto Prefecture has been robust since 1965, centred on the regions of Amakusa Kamishima, Shimoshima and Ashikita. Among the species being farmed in the area is red sea bream (Pagrus major). Known as madai in Japanese, the fish is a symbolic food item in Japan. Its unique red and white colours are considered lucky, and it’s often served whole on New Year’s Day, wedding ceremonies and other auspicious occasions. Not only does Kumamoto Prefecture farm such a key species, but it also boasts Japan’s second highest annual production volume of farmed red sea bream, with roughly 10,000 tonnes produced each year. This accounts for more than half of the prefecture’s farmed fish production volume. Last June, Kumamoto Prefecture drew attention when Japan’s first red sea bream Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) began there. The project involves Japanese social venture Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd., which provides sustainable seafood consulting and platforming services to Japanese fisheries, seafood businesses and government, the Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative, which conducts sales, processing, purchasing and guidancerelated businesses for its member mariculture fisheries and Urata Suisan Co., Ltd., a mariculture farm that operates red sea bream and striped jack mackerel farms in Goshoura Town in Amakusa. It’s also a member of the Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative. “Urata Suisan Co., Ltd and Kumamoto Seawater Culture
24 | JUNE 2021
Fisheries Cooperative have been exploring potential export markets for their products, including the North American and EU markets. Through the new AIP they are setting their sights on obtaining ASC certification in 2021 to further differentiate their products in the domestic and international markets,” said Shunji Murakami, Vice President and COO of Seafood Legacy. “Red sea bream farming is also very significant for Japan’s aquaculture production as a whole. The species is the second top farmed species by volume. The annual production volume was 62,301 tonnes in 2019. The largest producer was Ehime Prefecture in southwest Japan, and Kumamoto Prefecture was the second in 2018.” Two of three aquaculture fishing grounds that are operated by Urata Suisan are part of the AIP and targeted for ASC certification. Red sea bream smolt in both fishing grounds are raised for a year and half in net cages before they are transferred to other cages and raised for another year or so until they reach a shipment size of 2kg, Shunji Murakami said. The fish are fed moist pellets, while, in an move that ties in with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and the circular economy principle, Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative plants algae on the sea bed and grows it by making full use of debris such as uneaten feed and faeces from the fish farms. This algae is then cultivated as feed for livestock and abalone. The AIP process consisted of an ASC pre-assessment to address any improvement needs before a comprehensive work plan was drawn up. This included a timeline and a list of
For the latest news and analysis go to www.worldfishing.net/news101
