Seafood Legacy Co., Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative and Urata Suisan Co. have launched Japan’s first red sea bream aquaculture improvement project (AIP), encompassing two farms owned and operated by Urata Suisan in the Amakusa area of Kumamoto Prefecture.
Kumamoto produces the second highest volume of farmed red sea bream in Japan, with roughly 10,000 tonnes produced annually which accounts for more than half of the prefecture’s farmed fish output.
The prefectural government promotes an aquaculture best practices certification process which includes practices such as the use of domestically sourced smolt, record keeping of farm operations and setting strict guidelines for inspections of chemical products. Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative Association and Urata Suisan have also decided to turn to a more sustainable and responsible production of their farmed red sea bream and, by launching the AIP, have set their sights on obtaining ASC certification next year.
Kumamoto Seawater Culture Fisheries Cooperative Association conducted an ASC pre-assessment with Urata Suisan’s red sea bream farms in 2019 and Seafood Legacy developed an AIP plan based on the results, leading to the launch of this collaborative effort.
Improvements to be implemented through the AIP include monitoring of environmental impacts of net cages, ensuring sustainability of fish feed and smolt, management of diseases and parasites and development of social responsibility policies and guidelines.
