REMARKS AT FIRST MEETING 



UJNR PANEL ON AQUACULTURE, 



18-19 OCTOBER 1971 



ROBERT W. HIATT' 



The initial meeting of the UJNR (United States- 

 Japan Natural Resources) Aquaculture Panel is a 

 significant event in the most comprehensive bilateral 

 cooperative program between our two countries. 

 This meeting brings together technical representa- 

 tives of an ancient but still far from scientifically 

 mature endeavor m any country, and it is especial- 

 ly significant that this initial meeting takes place in 

 the country acknowledged to be in the vanguard of 

 the "'art" of aquaculture. 



My personal interest in this field is great, as my 

 professional background in marine ecology has in- 

 volved studies of Hawaiian fish ponds as well as 

 attempts at rearing zoeal stages of crabs. My feeling 

 for the field thus enables me to sympathize with 

 those who have labored long and hard at aquacul- 

 tural problems, and my interest has led me to visit 

 many of the aquacultural activities of Japan during 

 my brief period of residence in this country. 



Japanese panel members have spent much time 

 and effort on the conference program which should 

 not only give each delegation a summary review of 

 aquacultural activities in each country, but will sift 

 through the problems of the field and thus establish 

 principal points for the agenda of the next panel 

 meeting to be held in the United States. Field trip 

 organization has been both elaborate and detailed so 

 that special interests of the U.S. participants can be 

 fulfilled. 



Aquaculture in the Western world most likely 

 dates from the early Roman period when oysters 

 were brought under cultivation. Whether or not 

 .-Xsian aquacultural activities antedate those of the 

 West I do not know, but there is little doubt that 

 Japan's mariculture is the most varied and success- 

 ful in any country today. Unlike aquaculture in 

 Southeastern Asia which deals with few species in 



Scientific Attache. U.S. Embassy. Tokyo. Japan. 



mass production systems, Japan's objective has 

 been to produce variety and to sustain a large group 

 of seashore residents in gainful economic activity. 

 In the last few decades the mass production of export- 

 able products such as oyster spat has sustained not 

 only a host of Japan's mariculturists but those of the 

 western United States and other areas of the world 

 as well. Recently, a news item indicated that 15 

 planeloads of seed oysters from Sendai will be 

 shipped to Bordeaux, France, via New York to re- 

 plenish the declining oyster breeding farms there. 

 Each plane will carry approximately 243 million seed 

 oysters. 



Mariculture, like most other industries, makes 

 major surges when breakthroughs in technology 

 occur. Most of these breakthroughs have occurred 

 in Japan, indicating that the world renowned 

 "green thumb" of the Japanese is based on substan- 

 tial scientific observation, experimentation, and de- 

 duction. 



Everyone is well aware of the great strides in 

 mariculture being made in Japan, both with plant and 

 animal species. Special mention should be made of 

 very promising success in marine cultivation of rain- 

 bow trout, which ultimately may replace our di- 

 minishing salmon supply on the world's tables. One 

 need only to let his mind wander a bit to realize what 

 potential lies in the selection of rainbow trout for 

 rapid growth, a la Lauren R. Donaldson of the Uni- 

 versity of Washington, combined with the greatly 

 accelerated growth rate of trout reared in seawa- 

 ter. 



During the field trips the impact of Japan's indus- 

 trialization and urbanization on mariculture will be 

 most apparent. Many of these problems are also 

 being experienced in the United States. 1 hope that 

 during the course of these and future joint panel 

 meetings an assessment can be made of this threaten- 

 ing environmental circumstance so that agencies in 



