Achieving fundraising with full-chain traceability in line with international standards
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At the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium held in November 2019,1th Japan Sustainable Seafood AwardsThe "Japan's First Next-Generation Traceability System Construction Project" (Kaiko Bussan Co., Ltd., Daidenmaru Co., Ltd., Nakasenmaru Limited, and Lighthouse Co., Ltd.) was awarded as the first champion in the collaboration category.
This project is being carried out by Kaiko Bussan, a company that has been engaged in fishing in Funabashi, Tokyo Bay for generations and is working on Japan's first Fisheries Improvement Project (FIP), the Tokyo Bay Suzuki FIP, and Lighthouse, the developer of the marine platform ISANA, which collects and visualizes data in real time, such as images from fishing equipment such as fish finders, ship tracks, and onboard work status.
The project was highly praised for improving the traceability of marine products by creating a system rooted in the fishing industry, and for its contribution to the catch certification system and resource surveys that are essential for the future of Japan's fishing industry.
We spoke to Kazuhiko Ohno, president of Kaiko Bussan, and Katsutaka Shindo, CEO of Lighthouse, who have teamed up in the fields of fishing and cutting-edge technology, about what prompted them to start this initiative and what the future holds.
Hanaoka:How did you two meet and how did this project start?
Ohno:In 2016, we underwent a preliminary MSC certification audit and identified areas for improvement, which led to the Tokyo Bay Suzuki FIP (Fisheries Improvement Project). We realized that we needed to establish traceability as part of our improvement activities, so we started manually entering our catch data into an Excel worksheet once a week, which was a very tedious task.
So we received an invitation from Mr. Shindo and his team to join the ISANA project, which aims to use fishing IoT to bring about innovative and rational change in the fishing industry. We communicated our requests to them and they created a program, which has brought us to this day.
Shindo:Our company was founded in September 2017. When we first started the company, we set a goal of using technology to solve social issues, especially in areas that no one else had tackled. We came to the conclusion that the fisheries and marine industry in particular was very interesting and worthwhile to contribute to, but at the time we had no connections with anyone in the industry.
So, we were introduced to Mr. Ohno by a friend of one of our employees. We said, "We don't know anything about the industry, but we want to do something using technology," and he gave us knowledge that was connected to the fishing industry and this project using ISANA, and we were finally able to turn it into a service. So, it's no exaggeration to say that Mr. Ohno was the catalyst for creating our very first service, and we owe him so much to him.
Hanaoka:Thank you. Before this project began, was there no way to take logs other than by manual input? So that was the revolutionary part?
Shindo:Although they did exist, they were difficult to use, and while IoT is built by connecting ships to the Internet, there was an issue with the ships not being connected to the Internet. In order to improve the logs we have had up until now and obtain them in real time, as well as to make them easier to use, it is important to listen to customer feedback and make improvements. I think the most innovative aspect is connecting the ship to the Internet to create this system.
Hanaoka:Let me ask again, how much has your work efficiency changed since you were entering data manually compared to now that you're using the system?
Ohno:There is a lot of data that needs to be collected. The time of casting and hauling the net, latitude and longitude, bycatch species, species of fish caught and their body length. For sea bass, the catch amount by body length is also recorded. In this way, detailed data must be collected for every cast of the net for a year, without missing a single time. Since it is not possible to enter a year's worth of data all at once, I continued to enter the data into Excel once a week on my days off and send it to the NGO that is working with me on FIP. It was a very time-consuming job that meant there were no days off, but now it has become a little easier as we can record and check images from the sonar and fish finder on the boat and the fishing work situation.
However, since it is currently not possible to input data in real time on board, I would like to switch to voice input in the future. Until now, I was the only one doing the input work, but now my partner boatman has taken over, which has led to a change in the employees' awareness and I think it is a very good system. I am very grateful to Mr. Shindo.
Shindo:Thank you smile)
Hanaoka:You are known to many as an ethical fisherman and an evangelist for sustainable seafood, but what inspired you to apply for this award?
Ohno:When I was in my 30s and 40s, I devoted myself wholeheartedly to fishing. However, I also wondered if it was okay to catch so much, if there was any point in catching fish that couldn't be sold in the market, and when I saw my fathers catching a lot of young sea bass such as seigo, I wondered if in the future there would be no fish left for us to catch.
In Europe and the US, there are written standards such as MSC certification, and the idea of conducting managed fishing within those standards is well established. We wanted fishermen who feel the same way as us to be aware of this, to clearly understand what it is, and to convey, even if only a little, what the fishing industry should be like, which is what we presented at the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium.
Hanaoka:Thank you very much. You are really working on this with a lot of passion! What about you, Shindo-san?
Shindo:Our current traceability system is based on ISANA, a fleet management support service, and the number of customers has grown to the point where it is being used by more than 600 vessels.
The timing was perfect, as we had just been discussing within the company that we wanted to use this data to contribute to sustainability, which is sure to become an important aspect of the fishing industry in the future.
Hanaoka:The number 600 is surprising, but have you seen any increase in interest in sustainability among your customers as a result of the awards?
Shindo:When I introduce our company to fishermen I meet for the first time, I often talk about the award. Winning the award has increased our credibility, and it has helped us to be trusted by startups that not many people know about. It has also given fishermen an opportunity to talk about traceability, sustainability, and how they should approach their operations in the future, such as what the traceability system actually is and whether it is effective in raising fish prices, so I think winning the award was worth it.
Ohno:I think the biggest impact of this award is that it allowed all employees to share the same goal. At our 2019th anniversary party held in November 11, we invited over 30 people who have always supported us, and unveiled the trophy there. Another big achievement was that winning the award allowed us to start a joint project with various companies, including IBM Japan, to use blockchain to evolve this system.
Hanaoka:Thank you for inviting us to the anniversary party. It was clear to see that Mr. Ohno and the management team care for their staff, and that they are a great team all looking in the same direction. I was also impressed by the company's commitment to both internal and external stakeholders.
In the second part, we will ask about the current situation in the fishing industry and future developments of the project.
>>>Read the second part
*This article is reprinted from Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd.'s blog.
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