The 7th IFB Seminar
The 7th IFB Seminar took place in the conference room of the Institute of Freshwater Biology.
Title: From Juvenile Fish Research to “Forest-Satoumi Linkage Studies” - Looking Ahead to Transdisciplinary Research
Lecturer: Masaru Tanaka
Affiliation: Born in 1943 in Shiga Prefecture. Professor emeritus of Kyoto University. After enrolling in the Fisheries Department of the Faculty of Agriculture at Kyoto University, he has been researching the ecology and physiology of juvenile fish for the past 40 years. Since 2003, he has been advocating and active in the field of “Forest, Village and Sea Interdisciplinary Studies”. He is a former director of the NPO “Forest and Sea Lovers”.
Abstract:
A childhood experience that led me to this day
I was born near Lake Biwa in Otsu City, Shiga Prefecture, and my teacher in the upper grades of elementary school took his class to Lake Biwa in a small boat and caught a mature parent fish of a Japanese carp that had come there to spawn. This was the starting point (original experience) that led me to this day. Through subsequent research on juvenile fish in the Ariake Sea, I realized that the connection between forests, villages, and the sea, which I had arrived at because the water’s edge is an essential ecotone for the circulation of life in the sea, was the same in my hometown of Lake Biwa.
Why do flounders metamorphose?
Flounders, one of the main subjects of research on juvenile fish, are the most typical fish to undergo metamorphosis. When I was active, I was interested in the mechanism by which metamorphosis occurs, but from the perspective of the current cycle of life, I have come to see it as a remodeling of the body structure of wild creatures to adapt to different environments and increase their chances of survival. At the same time, a nationwide survey of juvenile flounder, mainly on the Japan Sea side, led to the idea of an integrated study called “Forest, Village, and Sea Interconnection Studies,” which overlays the circulation of life in the ocean with the circulation of water between the ocean and land, and reexamines the state of the “village” (broadly speaking, human activities) in the river basin, which holds the key to life.
The Great East Japan Earthquake was a turning point.
The massive earthquake and tsunami that struck off the coast of Miyagi Prefecture in March 2011 destroyed the Sanriku coastal ecosystem and the lives of the local community that depended on it in one fell swoop. In order to understand the impact of the massive earthquake and tsunami and the recovery process, a comprehensive “Kesennuma Mone Bay Survey” was launched two months after the earthquake, linking the forest to the ocean, with the cooperation of various researchers from around the country as early as possible, and is still being conducted every two months. The goal of the second 10-year phase is to clarify the natural and social roles of the salt marshes between the forest (land) and the sea, which were revived by the earthquake and tsunami, such as their function as nursery grounds for juvenile fish.
A pilgrimage along the coast by sea kayak
I had the opportunity to go on a pilgrimage along the coast by sea kayak to see the reality of the severe deterioration of the ecosystem along the coast of Japan and to hear the true feelings of the people who live with the sea despite the continuing damage caused by the tsunamis. It was also a journey to get closer to the feelings of young flounder fish who long for the water. A fisherman from Sanriku said with a smile, “Here is the Pacific shore. Tsunamis are scary, but we know how to escape. If we work hard, we can pay off our debts and live. I want to continue this pilgrimage, learning from my senses that the water’s edge, the “gap,” is essential for many young fish.
The research on juvenile fish that began in the lake (sea) is moving toward “transdisciplinary research” for the regeneration of the Ariake Sea.
Born in Lake Biwa, he has been involved in research on juvenile fish for over 40 years, aiming to regenerate the value of connections and create a flow toward the regeneration of nature and society based on the connection from forest to sea. The final chapter of the deepening of the integrated study “Forest, Village and Sea Linkage Studies” is being set as the stage for the regeneration of the Ariake Sea, which has gone from an infinitely rich sea to a dying sea. By overlapping the future of the children of fish and the children of humans, he will pave the way to contribute to solving real problems (border regeneration) through the development of “transdisciplinary research” that combines the humanities and sciences and collaborates with academia and society.