Keeping Aquaculture Afloat

Staff at this supermarket in northern Japan are busy updating the dairy section.

Over 800 food and drink items are getting higher price tags this month.

"My kids drink lots of milk, so this is hard."

"Our household budget is getting really tight."

The government is ready to respond to the situation with a fresh economic package worth a staggering 39 trillion yen.

That's about 260 billion dollars.

"The package is aimed at tackling rising prices and reviving the economy.

By undertaking both of these in an integrated manner, we will protect people's daily lives, employment,

and businesses, while also strengthening the economy in the future."

The measures include gas and electricity subsidies to bring down ballooning energy bills.

Existing subsidies for oil wholesalers to lower retail fuel prices will also be extended beyond December.

The government estimates these steps will help curb the rise in consumer prices by around 1.2 percentage points.

But the hefty cost is casting a shadow over the country's already worsening finances.

That's because a large part of the necessary funding is likely to be secured by additional debt issuance.

This reminds many observers of the recent situation in the UK.

"I am resigning as leader of the Conservative Party."

Liz Truss was forced to resign as Prime Minister after her vast, unfunded economic plan sent shockwaves through the financial market and hammered the value of the pound.

With Japan's huge spending plan, some experts worry the country's currency could also lose its credibility...and cause prices to rise even more.

"The government wants to counter rising prices, but there is a risk of a vicious cycle.

The expansionary fiscal policy combined with monetary easing could further weaken the yen and accelerate inflation, instead of taming it."

The government is also stepping into the currency market with a record amount of money to fight the yen's slide.

But it seems contradictory to the central bank's monetary easing, which is prompting the currency to fall.

That's raising questions about inconsistency in Japan's policy.

Kiuchi stresses the importance of a strategy...

and not a temporary fix...

to address the real issue.

"We need a growth strategy that creates an environment where wages go up.

Because with higher wages, people can withstand higher prices.

That kind of strategy could overcome rising prices and become a fundamental solution."

The expert suggests it's time for Japan to really work on structural reform, while keeping an eye on its fiscal discipline.

Shoppers are selecting outerwear in preparation for winter.

Most products in this shop cost upwards of 300 dollars, but some customers buy several pieces at once.

"It's light...so light that I wonder whether it will be warm enough in winter."

"I love that it's warm and stylish."

The reason for its popularity can be found inside the jacket.

It is a cotton-like natural fiber from the seed pod the kapok tree...

which is indigenous to tropical areas of Asia and Africa.

The fibers are hollow...

which makes them about 8 times lighter than cotton.

Despite the lighter weight, there is excellent heat retention.

It is said to be able to maintain the same temperature as a down coat.

There are big draws for apparel companies.

Kapok production uses much less water than cotton production, and doesn't involve animals.

"It's not necessary to cut down the trees.

By using the seed pods that are harvested each year, we can manufacture lightweight, warm coats and build a sustainable brand."

Indonesia has more kapok trees than any other country.

There are high hopes that renewed use of the material will create jobs and economic growth.

A lot of high-quality Indonesian kapok is bought up by the Netherlands-based company Flocus.

It creates yarn and fabric and sells them to apparel companies and textile trading houses around the globe.

We always blend kapok with other fibers, blends of kapok with cotton kapok, with silk kapok, with recycled kapok.

People use a lot of polyester that can be easily changed to a kapok fiber.

With demand for the fiber expected to grow, there is a drive to plant more kapok trees with farmers.

Flocus is working with various clients to fund the project.

The first stage is planting 100,000 saplings in Indonesia.

Each tree will mature to produce about 300 seed pods every year.

There are also efforts to improve the production framework.

Farmers in one village didn't see the value, and allowed the seed pods to fall to the ground, damaging their quality.

But now the farmers have motivation not to let kapok go to waste as Flocus pays twice the going rate.

"I used to think that the seed pods were worthless and would throw them away.

Now I am hoping my harvest will increase."

A new factory to process kapok is scheduled to open by the end of the year and that will raise demand even more.

We think the textile market is so big that we have to plant in more countries, we have to build an infrastructure in in more countries.

With natural sustainability backed by passionate innovators...

kapok has a growing presence in the fashion industry.

Aquaculture now supplies nearly 50% of the world's seafood.

From improving efficiency when feeding tuna...

to turning to land-based seaweed production to avoid rising ocean temperatures.

Today's On-Site Report focuses on how Japanese Aquaculture companies are striving for sustainability.

This blue fin tuna farm is located off the coast of Ehime prefecture.

Since the facility raises high quality tuna, they are fed a diet of protein and vitamin- rich mackerel.

Iwao Tadakuni has been running the company for over 10 years.

According to him, the company harvests and ships about 10,000 tuna per year.

To sustain that pace, it goes through about $50,000 dollars of mackerel per day - accounting for more than half of his company's operating costs.

He also says that providing the tuna with just the right amount of feed is extremely important.

The exact number of tuna fry are always recorded when the fish are first released into their pens.

However, overtime, some of the tuna will get caught in the net's webbing or die from other causes.

He says that during the 6 years it takes for the fish to reach maturation, only about 70% of the original number will remain.

Although knowing the exact number is impossible, expert staff usually rely on their eyes and intuition to estimate the number of fish at any given time.

Since the mackerel we use to feed them are so expensive, we try to be careful not to overfeed the tuna.

To increase feeding efficiency as much as possible, today Iwao has asked Hamano Akira to help him conduct a more accurate headcount.

Formerly a professor at Japan's National Fisheries University, Hamano is an expert in sonar technology.

The old-school way of doing things just isn't good enough these days.

We need to promote the adoption of new technology in order to take Japan's fishery industry into the next-generation.

Hamano has developed a specially designed fish counting system that can be used to accurately determine the number of tuna as they swim around their pens.

The system makes use of a sonar device, and an extremely small transmitter.

The sonar uses 15-separate soundwave emitters to ensure that a narrow portion of the fish pen is covered from top to bottom.

This allows them to calculate the number of tuna swimming through that section of the pen at any given time.

Next, in order to measure the speed the tuna are swimming at, a tiny transmitter is placed in one of the pieces of mackerel used to feed the fish and tossed in the water.

Once a tuna has swallowed the transmitter, its speed and movement can be tracked inside of the pen.

"Now we can see exactly where it is and what its doing."

Hamano then enters the data gathered from the two devices into a proprietary computer program.

It is then able to calculate the total number of fish swimming around the pen with a high degree of accuracy.

Iwao's initial estimate before the survey began was 1,400 tuna.

The number the sonar-based system provided was 1,388.

A testament to the accuracy of an industry pro's eyes and intuition.

But when Hamano used the sonar at another fishery, the number of fish he counted was over 300 fewer than the client's initial estimate.

Taking that number into account, he said that the tuna farm could be wasting as much as $200,000 per year on fish feed.

Fish farmers face all sorts of challenges.

I think technology can solve many of those problems and help them to grow their businesses.

Iwao is convinced that Hamano's system will catch on in the Tuna farming industry.

If we can transition from the rough estimates most of us currently rely on and obtain more accurate fish counts, we can cut costs and do a better job of managing our operations.

Kochi prefecture is known for producing Aonori, or green seaweed.

Experts say that it can only be grown and harvested naturally during the winter, when ocean temperatures are usually below 20°C.

Over the last 20 years, however, rising ocean temperatures have led to several crop failures.

While peak harvests can reach up to 60 tons of Aonori, 2020 was a total loss.

Hachiya Jun runs a locally-based seaweed company.

After basing much of his research on marine plant life while studying at Kochi University...

He set out to find a way to revive the region's Aonori industry.

After we'd seen such a dramatic drop in aonori production here, I thought - "If we can't grow it the traditional way, maybe we can do it on the land?"

But for that to work, he first needed to find a source of underground seawater - the easiest and most reliable source of salt water that is cool enough to grow healthy Aonori.

When found at the right depth underground seawater maintains a temperature of between 17° and 20°C throughout the year, and has a salinity of about 2%,

which happens to be ideal for cultivating Aonori.

But finding a suitable location for the seawater-well wasn't easy.

It took them several drillings before finding a spot that would meet their needs.

There was a lot of trial and error involved, but we learned from each failure and now we know how to look for the best locations.

Hachiya's company is currently operating land-based Aonori farms using underground seawater at 3 different locations across Kochi prefecture.

He also came up with a proprietary mixing arm for his tanks.

This helps to keep the seaweed spread out, allowing it to receive an even amount of sunlight,

which encourages faster growth.

With the reliability the above-ground system provides, the company is able to deliver new shipments of aonori on a weekly basis.

Plus, they can produce and ship their product to clients all-year-round, while their sea-based competitors are left waiting for cooler winter waters to return.

In 2022, this restaurant chain started using Hachiya's aonori as a main ingredient in one of their soups.

Because it was so popular, we decided to add it to our regular menu.

While the company primarily sells its Aonori to restaurants and food manufacturers, it has recently started selling new products directly to consumers.

It is also hoping to take its products beyond Japan by appealing to vegetarians and other health-conscious customers.