### 3. Success in collecting wild Japanese eel eggs

○ A joint research team of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo, and the Fisheries Research Agency succeeded in collecting fertilized eggs of wild Japanese eel for the first time in the world (published in February 2011).

○ Since this research has clarified wild Japanese eels' spawning environment and their growing environment immediately after hatching, technology for producing artificial seedlings of Japanese eels is expected to develop further in the future.

A Japanese eel's naturally fertilized egg collected for the first time in the world (left)

Leptocephalus immediately after hatching (right)

Photo courtesy of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, The University of Tokyo.

### 4. Toward the sustainable use of whale resources

☐ The International Whaling Commission (IWC) has become dysfunctional due to polarization between nations that support the sustainable use of whales and anti-whaling nations. In order to overcome this situation, the "Future of the IWC" process was commenced in 2008. However, the IWC failed to reach a consensus on this issue at its annual meeting in June 2010, and it set a one-year period for reflection until the annual meeting in 2011.

☐ In recent years, sabotage activities of an anti-whaling group, Sea Shepherd, against the Japanese fleet engaged in whaling for scientific research purposes in the Antarctic Ocean have become a serious problem. During the 2010/2011 research cruise, Sea Shepherd repeatedly sabotaged Japanese research activity by throwing glass bottles containing butyric acid or paint-filled projectiles, smoke bombs, and incendiary devices, and deploying wire ropes to entangle the propellers of the research vessels. Since it became difficult to ensure the safety of the research, the fleets had no choice but to cut their research activity of the season short in February 2011.

☐ The Cabinet Secretariat and other relevant ministries/agencies will continue to consider necessary measures in cooperation with each other, so as to prevent Japan's legitimate research activities under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling from being sabotaged.

### 5. Considering biodiversity from black kokanee

☐ In 2010, fish presumed to be black kokanee, or kunimasu in Japanese, were discovered in Saiko Lake, Yamanashi Prefecture, although black kokanee were thought to have only inhabited Tazawa Lake, Akita Prefecture and to have become extinct in 1940.

☐ In October 2010, the tenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (COP 10) was held in Nagoya. Discussions were held on issues including measures for achieving a world for conserving biodiversity and living in harmony with nature. The Strategic Plan 2011–2020 (Aichi Biodiversity Targets), including a target to expand the marine conservation area to 10% of coastal and marine areas by 2020, was adopted at the conference.

☐ In August 2010, a research finding was announced that 33,629 species of marine organisms, equivalent to about 14.6% of all marine organism species in the world, have been confirmed in the waters around Japan.

Illustration by Sakana-kun, one of the people who discovered black kokanee in Saiko Lake