Takaaki Matsuda

"The sea around Japan is plagued with disease, coastal resources are running out, and many fishing villages are being depopulated. We need to break this cycle, and urgently,” says Takaaki Matsuda, professor emeritus at Kagoshima University, and head of the creatively-named “Association for Promotion of Sea Reforestation.”

The Association cultivates kelp in cooperation with the National Fishery Association and advances the improvement of the nation’s seaweed beds. On September 26-27, the group held "The 3rd Kelp Summit" at Tokyo University of Marine Science, with support from The Nippon Foundation.

Traditional Female Kelp Diver
(Note the lack of breathing apparatus)

Mr. Matsuda researched coastal kelp farms with the Eastern Iki Island Fishery Association in Nagasaki Prefecture when he was a fishery professor at Kagoshima University. Since it was proved that the northern part of Kagoshima Bay was a suitable place for large-scale aqua farming, he started “planting sea forests” with the aim of protecting the environment, increasing marine resources, and revitalizing local communities.

Since the organization was established in 2002, Mr. Matsuda’s work has spread from Kagoshima to Miyazaki, Kumamoto, Shizuoka, Kanagawa, Chiba, Ishikawa, Hiroshima, Shimane, Ehime, Nagasaki, Toyama, Fukui, Mie, and overseas to Sri Lanka. In 2005, the 1st Kelp Summit was held in Nagasaki and has been held every 2 years since then.

Boxes for sea urchins

To rebuild the fishing industry, Mr. Matsuda considers it essential to revitalize local costal fisheries. He promotes this work under three tenets: 1. Revitalizing our forests, rivers and seas; 2. Promoting this activity throughout Japan; 3. Seaweed is the doctor that can save the Earth.

The two themes of this year’s summit were, “Environment, Dietary Education, and the Development of Rural Villages for Co-existence with the Sea,” and “Tokyo Bay Restoration and Sea Reforestation for Symbiosis with the Sea.” Mr. Masanobu Shibuya, a panelist of the symposium, investigates the sea as a diver, and said that in the sea around Japan, a “desertification has begun.”

Kelp

Mr. Matsuda was told by foreign students from Asia that Japan’s fishing infrastructure is superb. However, they said, there are few young workers in their countries, and so they would have difficulty modeling the Japanese way when they return home. Mr. Matsuda also said "Japan’s marine resources have a lot of potential, but we do not use them well. It is time for us to rebuild our marine resources, using the wisdom gained from past experience and knowledge.”