In an effort to increase communication and collaboration between Japan and the U.S., a student exchange program was initiated in 1998. Two U. S. graduate students were selected to spend four months in Japan working with some of the most outstanding fishery and aquaculture scientists. In the second stage of the exchange, Japanese students will be invited to work with the U. S. scientists who sent students to Japan in 1998.
Research efforts in both countries have been directed towards marine fish enhancement, specifically using flounder species as models. The Japanese fishery and aquaculture community produces 50 million Japanese flounder annually, and more than half are released as juveniles. Since 1991 the mean annual catch of flounder has been increasing, and there is much U. S. scientists can learn from this successful program. With reliable culture techniques and an infrastructure supporting nationwide releases, research efforts are now focusing on the effects of released Japanese flounder on nursery areas and wild populations, and improving the quality of juveniles for release. On the U.S. side, the National Sea Grant College program and the National Marine Fisheries Service support research on flounder culture and enhancement. Approximately $1 million dollars is spent every year on flounder research through these combined NOAA programs.
In 1998 Nicholas King from the University of New Hampshire and Joanne Harcke from North Carolina State University were invited to the Kyoto University Fisheries Research Station in Maizuru, Japan to work under the supervision of Dr. Masaru Tanaka and Dr. Tadahisa Seikai. After arriving in Japan, the group developed a four month schedule (March-July) which allowed Nick and Joanne to conduct independent research projects, assist with the release and monitoring of juvenile Japanese flounder, as well as, visit and interact with scientists from research and production facilities throughout Japan. Their primary research objectives were:
1) Develop a method to evaluate the quality of larvae and juvenile Japanese flounder, with implications for release. A challenge test was designed to compare the tolerance of fish exposed to increasing temperature.
2) Examine the influence of stocking density on sex determination of Japanese flounder.
3) Assist with the release of 100,000 juvenile Japanese flounder, and weekly recapture surveys.
Trips to government and commercial flounder research and production facilities were also a key component of the student exchange program. While in Maizuru, Nick and Joanne were able to take several day trips to the Obama and Miyazu stations of the Japan-Sea Farming Association (JASFA), and the Kyoto Institute of Oceanic and Fishery Science. During these site visits, they were able to see large scale flounder production, and the diversity of fish and shellfish grown for stock enhancement. Through these tours and discussion with production managers, Joanne and Nick were able to learn about all aspects of flounder culture including spawning techniques, disease prevention, and nutrition. In April, the students and visiting NCSU professor, Dr. Harry Daniels, were invited to the National Research Institute of Aquaculture (NRIA) in Nansei, Mie to meet Dr. Kunihiko Fukusho and scientists from the UJNR panel on Aquaculture. Tours and meetings included the sections on Fish Genetics, Pathology, Reproduction, Nutrition, and Environmental Management. After learning about the research priorities for aquaculture in Japan, the three U. S. scientists presented a seminar highlighting flounder research at UNH and NCSU. Dr. Fukusho also organized tours of two commercial flounder growout farms, one of which was the largest in Japan.
When asked to give their impressions of the program, and to comment on the cultural experience of living in Japan for four months, their reply was:
"Our affiliation with Kyoto University exposed us to one of the finest Universities in Japan. We walked down the same hall as two winners of the Nobel Peace Prize for Science, and attended seminars with students who will certainly govern the future of Japan's natural resources, and continue to lead the world in marine aquaculture research. By living and working alongside students and faculty from Kyoto, Tokyo, and Fukui Prefectoral Universities, we had the opportunity to build a mutual respect that will undoubtedly lead to longterm exchange of information, collaboration, and 1ifelong friendships. Our experience in Japan was, in every way, a positive one, but was so for reasons of an open mind, and gracious host. This experience came from not only overcoming language and cultural differences, but also through sharing and celebration. Together we marveled at the thousand year old Buddhist temples of Kyoto and Nara, touched the majestic cedars in the Grand Shrine of Ise, witnessed morning rush hour in Tokyo station, and viewed all the greenery of the land from the mountains of Hokkaido, to the gardens of the Imperial Palace, to the bamboo forests and rice fields of Maizuru. We indulged in, and sampled all, Japanese cuisine from sashimi to soba, and never grew tired of steamed rice. Indeed, we accomplished all of our objectives involving enhancement and culture (both flounder and Japanese), but at this point can only report on the positive experience we had being welcomed into scientists' facilities and homes. We look forward to sharing the results of our research, and to the further collaboration on issues involved with flounder production and stock enhancement both in the U. S. and Japan."
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