TOKYO — July 22, 2014 — His aim is to establish a way to increase tuna production without harming the ecosystem.
The 2030s could find the world in the midst of a deepening food and energy problem due to an exploding population. But while most statistics paint a bleak picture of the future, there exists hope in the form of talented people and the innovative technology they are developing.
One such person is Goro Yoshizaki, a professor at the Graduate School of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology. Alarmed by the possibility that the bluefin tuna will become extinct, he has kicked off a project to develop a technology that enables the fish to be spawned via mackerel. His aim is to establish a way to increase tuna production without harming the ecosystem. One reason he chose mackerel for the project is that it grows quickly and does not cost much to raise.
The two fish have very different body sizes, but both belong to the mackerel family, making them "relatives." Yoshizaki has so far succeeded in developing a method to produce rainbow trout using "masu" salmon, both of which belong to the salmon family, and to yield expensive tiger puffer via the grass puffer.
Read the full story at Nikkei Asian Review