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October 29, 2020
DOWAS (Deep Ocean Water Application Society) Presentation
(Downloadable from the Citycon Artificial Sea Mountains Research Group)

September 5, 2020
Papers presented at the 8th Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week (available for download from the Citycon Artificial Sea Mountains Research Group)
Special program for the 8th Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week https://youtu.be/KCYEg_AS67Y

April 2020: Weekly Citycon meetings started via Zoom

December 28, 2019: Artificial Sea Mountains_PV (for fishermen) https://youtu.be/ypEq5FljcPQ

November 30, 2019: Concrete Debris Research Group (renamed: Citycon Artificial Sea Mountains Research Group)_PV
https://youtu.be/-GZtZvq30aM

September 3, 2019
JSCE Annual Conference (Kagawa University) “Early Recovery From Disaster and Food Production through the Use of Earthquake-Damaged Concrete Debris as Fishing Facilities”
(PDF)

September 8, 2019
Tokyo Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week (Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall) ”Promoting Recovery Through New Methods of Utilizing Earthquake Debris”
(PDF)

September 19, 2019
Society of Material Cycles and Waste Management Research Presentation (Tohoku University) “Promoting early recovery through the rapid materialization and utilization of earthquake disaster waste”
(PDF)


We would like to take this opportunity to express our sincere gratitude for your continued support and patronage.
We would like to express our sincere gratitude for your continued support.
Thanks to your support, our company was able to celebrate its 10th anniversary on April 10, 2019.
This is entirely due to your generous support and warm encouragement.
We would like to express our heartfelt gratitude.
We will renew our determination and work to promote the use of Artificial Sea Mountains made from earthquake debris.
We look forward to your continued support.

April 10, 2019
Tatsuo Suzuki, President of Artificial Sea-Mount Institute Corp., submitted a paper related to the paper to the JSCE Annual Conference on September 3-5, 2019 at Kagawa University.
The content is attached for reference (PDF).


The huge tuna from Oma in Aomori Prefecture that was sold at the first auction this year for a record-breaking 333.6 million yen has been making headlines. The auction was won by the sushi chain Sushizanmai. This article explains the intention behind the record-breaking 333.6 million yen bid for the huge tuna.


New Year’s card (JPG) with the image of increasing the production of Japanese seafood by quickly utilizing earthquake disaster waste
With the cooperation of the NPO “Tokyo Portal Site ‘Inochi’”, we have posted a proposal video on YouTube that contributes to the early
disposal of earthquake disaster waste and the increased production of fish.
(https://youtu.be/sHwmILK4SaM ) No hesitation, an ideal image to pass on to our descendants


・Report (PDF) of the Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week Forum held at the Tokyo Metropolitan Memorial Hall on September 9, 2018.


・After the lecture at the Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Forum on Sunday, September 9, 2018, the attached special resolution (PDF) will be passed.
After the resolution, we will request the central government, Tokyo Metropolitan Government, prefectures, cities, towns and villages, political parties, economic organizations, etc. to begin a prompt review of the purpose of the resolution.
If you agree with this resolution, please send an email to suzuki@asmi.co.jp with your name and affiliation.We apologize, but the deadline is September 8, 2018, the day before the resolution.
The content of the lecture on the day: “Artificial Sea Mountains Using Earthquake-generated Materials” (PDF) is attached.
The compressed YouTube version is (https://youtu.be/HNCZlbzW52M)


It has been 95 years since the Great Kanto Earthquake, and it cannot be said that a major earthquake directly beneath the capital is unexpected.
By chance, we are collaborating with the following NPO, the “Tokyo Portal Site INOCHI”. As part of this, we will be holding an exhibition and giving a lecture (attached is a commemorative paper) at the 6th Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week. The 6th Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week, organized by the Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week Executive Committee, will be held at the Tokyo International Forum from October 22nd to 28th.
We will be giving a lecture on “Artificial Sea Mountains Using Earthquake-generated Materials” (PDF).
*Metropolitan Disaster Prevention Week Pamphlet (PDF)


・2017 Deep Sea Water Research 20th Anniversary Commemorative Issue (PDF)


In order to speed up post-disaster recovery, it is necessary to have a plan in place to quickly utilize the huge amount of disaster waste that is generated.
Using the example of a major earthquake directly beneath the capital, we have published one promising measure on YouTube, “A Major Earthquake and a Huge Catch of Fish” (go to YouTube).
We have also published a related proposal entitled “Early Recovery from a Major Earthquake Directly Beneath the Capital and Increased Food Production” in Topics.

In the past 2000 years, there have been five earthquakes in the three blocks of East Japan, Kanto, and the Nankai Trough that have occurred in quick succession.
Nine years after the 869 Jogan earthquake, the 878 Sagami-Musashi earthquake occurred, and nine years after that, the 887 Ninwa earthquake occurred.
In the worst case scenario, it would not be unreasonable to think that the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake was the beginning of the sixth earthquake in quick succession.
By using the huge amount of concrete debris that is expected to be generated by a major earthquake directly beneath the capital city for the development of a marine aquaculture base,
we can support recovery and reconstruction. We propose one feasible method for this as “Early recovery from a major earthquake directly beneath the capital city and increased food production”


The Japan Society of Civil Engineers has announced that the estimated cost of damage from the Nankai Trough earthquake and tsunami over the past 20 years is 1,410 trillion yen. At the same time, they have estimated that the cost of damage from a major earthquake directly beneath the capital would be 778 trillion yen.

・Last year, the design for three areas (Oki Strait area (east side), Tsushima Strait area, and Osumi Strait area) was completed as part of the national government’s Artificial Sea Mountains project, and studies are being conducted with a view to construction.


・DOWAS: A video based on a presentation at the 21st National Convention of the Deep Water Utilization Society has been uploaded to YouTube as “National Resilience of the Sea – 2”. (Go to youtube)


The design work for the construction of artificial sea mountains in three areas (the Oki Strait area (east side), the Tsushima Strait area, and the Osumi Strait area) was announced as part of the direct fisheries development project for fiscal year 2017.


We are deeply grateful to everyone for their cooperation in making it possible to publish this proposal to commemorate the 8th anniversary of the founding of ASMI Corp.
(youtube) (pdf)

The annual New Year’s auction was held at the Tsukiji Market of the Tokyo Metropolitan Central Wholesale Market (Chuo Ward) on the 5th, and
a 200-kilogram bluefin tuna from Oma in Aomori Prefecture was sold at 14 million yen (70,000 yen per kilogram), more than three times the price of last year.
The winning bidder for the fifth consecutive year was Kiyomura, which operates the Sushizanmai sushi chain with its head office in Tsukiji.


・When comparing the cost-effectiveness of the traditional mound type and the quadruple mountain type, which is easy to construct even in deep water and has a high fish reef effect, the cost-effectiveness of the quadruple mountain type is about 10% higher than that of the mound type (pdf)


As the second phase of the directly managed Artificial Sea Mountains project, the construction of mound reef blocks for the Oki Strait area in fiscal year 2014
Mound Reef Block Production (Part 2) work was ordered.


At the Ocean Development Symposium held in Niigata, the Japan Society of Civil Engineers presented a paper on “Understanding the Actual Situation of Vertical Mixing Phenomena Using Artificial Sea Mountains” co-authored by Masanori Takeda and others. (pdf)


The patent for Artificial Sea Mountains that had been applied for in Taiwan was registered in May. (pdf)


The Taiwan Conference of the Deep Sea Water Utilization Society was held in Hualien City from the 2nd to the 4th, and I gave a presentation on “The Current State and Issues of Artificial Sea Mountains”. I introduced the background to the project from the time of its announcement in 1980 to the present day, as well as the issues and new initiatives.
I also showed the possibility of greatly reducing the volume of Artificial Sea Mountains by applying the results of experiments to control the scattering of blocks.


The Fisheries Agency has ordered a survey of the sea conditions and water quality in the Oki Strait area and the design of a structure for a fishing ground in the upwelling current in the same area, as the second stage of the directly-managed Artificial Sea Mountains project

<January 2013>
The first auction of the year was held on January 5th 2013. At the fresh tuna wholesale market in Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo, a 222kg Pacific bluefin tuna from Oma was sold for 700,000 yen per kg, 2.8 times the record price set last year.

December 2012
The patent application for the new type of Artificial Sea Mountains submitted to China was approved in October 2012. Our company has granted a non-exclusive license to Dalian Zhongnan Vitec Resources and Environmental Technology Research Co., Ltd. to use this patent in the territorial waters of the People’s Republic of China, and both companies have agreed to cooperate in promoting the spread of environmentally friendly Artificial Sea Mountains and other fishing ground creation technologies.

<August 2012>
While the domestic Artificial Sea Mountains project is being implemented in earnest, the patent for a new type of Artificial Sea Mountains that was applied for in the United States has been registered. The details were announced at the 2009 international conference CARAH, and in Japan it has already been registered as Patent No. 4633848 (pdf)

<March 2012>
The key points of the new Basic Plan for Fisheries are that it positions the policies for the recovery of fisheries, as indicated in the Basic Policy for Reconstruction and the Master Plan for Post-disaster Reconstruction, and the resource management and fishery income compensation systems that have been in place since FY2011, as core measures in the Basic Plan. The key points of the Long-term Plan for the Development of New Fishing Ports and Fishing Grounds are that it promotes the restoration and recovery of fishing grounds, disaster prevention measures, hygiene management measures, and the development of fishing grounds that take into account the life history of marine products.

<March 2012>
Thirty people from the Dalian Fisheries Administration, Dalian Ocean University, the fishing industry, local businesses and the media gathered
to discuss the potential for artificial sea mountain construction to improve fishing grounds along the Dalian coast.


As part of a new Japanese infrastructure project to increase marine resources, the Fisheries Agency has begun work on the construction of the largest artificial sea mountains to date, directly managed by the agency, on the seabed off the Goto Islands in Nagasaki Prefecture. The mountains, which are 30 meters high and 250 meters long, are equivalent to a 10-story building. It is said that the Chinese coast is also beginning to take an interest in this technology.


The Maanao spawning grounds, which had been shrouded in mystery until now, were identified by the Kaiyo Maru and the Hakutaka Maru. They succeeded in collecting Maanao leptocephalus in the eastern waters of the Palau Ridge, about 380km south of Okinotorishima. The next challenge will be to identify the spawning route and spawning period (June to September) of the adult fish.


The first markets of the year 2012 were held at consumer markets across the country on January 5th. At the Tokyo Tsukiji Market’s fresh tuna wholesale market, a 269kg bluefin tuna from Oma was sold for 210,000 yen per kg, more than double the price of 2001.

(December 2011)
The government has decided on a draft budget for the fisheries industry for fiscal year 2012 of 267.6 billion yen, a 34% increase on the previous year.
The regular portion of the budget for fisheries infrastructure development was approximately 69 billion yen, a 4.6% decrease on the previous year, but an additional 25 billion yen was allocated for restoration and recovery measures, bringing the total budget for the year to 94 billion yen, a 30% increase on the previous year.

(December 2011)
In FY2011, the total budget for fisheries was 955.4 billion yen, including an initial budget of 200.2 billion yen, a first supplementary budget of 215.3 billion yen, a second supplementary budget of 19.8 billion yen, a third supplementary budget of 498.9 billion yen, and a fourth supplementary budget of 21.2 billion yen.

(December 2011)
The target for the self-sufficiency rate for edible fish and seafood in the next Fisheries Basic Plan for 2022 has been increased by 5 points from the current 65% (FY2017) to 70%, but the domestic production and consumption figures on which the calculation is based are both shrinking.


The cost of installing the blocks in the Artificial Sea Mountains project in offshore waters accounts for a large proportion of the total cost.
The newly developed “block loading and dropping method” makes it possible to reduce the total cost of construction and at the same time significantly shorten the construction period
(go to youtube)


On the Fisheries Agency website, tender information was announced for the 2011 Goto Western Offshore Mound Reef Block Production (Fukue and
Aobata Districts) project. At the same time, tender information was announced for the 2011 Goto Western Offshore
Mound Reef Stone Placement project.


The latest research on artificial reefs from around the world, which was presented at CARAH (the International Conference) in November 2009, has been published in the book “Artificial Reefs in Fisheries Management” and is now available.
The latest paper on artificial sea mountains is included in Chapter 18 Enhancing Food Production on the Continental Shelf by Artificial Sea Mountains. pp.298-308.


The first supplementary budget for fiscal 2011, which will be used for recovery and reconstruction after the Great East Japan Earthquake, was approved by the Cabinet, and of this amount, ¥215.3 billion was allocated to fisheries, accounting for about 60% of the total budget for the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.


The Artificial Sea Mountains with high upwelling efficiency that were presented at an international conference in 2009 were registered as a patent. (pdf)

(December 2010)
The Fisheries Agency announced on its website that it would be carrying out work to construct artificial sea mounts and reefs using stones and other materials in the Goto-Nishikata-oki area in 2010.

(December 2010)
The budget for the Fisheries Infrastructure Improvement Project for 2011 was decided at a Cabinet meeting, with a 12% decrease from the previous year to 72.4 billion yen, including an 88% increase in the Frontier Fisheries Development Project to 25.4 billion yen.

(December 2010)
We received information about artificial sea mountains in South Korea from Dr. Yoo Jae-seon of Kyungdong University.
This project is based on Japanese technology, but there is no information on its effectiveness, so we are hoping for some information. (pdf)

<November 2010>
At the 14th Deep Sea Water Utilization Society Conference in Kumejima, we gave a presentation on the effects of Artificial Sea Mountains, the issues and countermeasures for deep-sea Artificial Sea Mountains, and other topics, under the title of “Increasing Primary Production Using Nutrients in the Lower Layers of the Ocean”. (After the conference: taking a break in the rich waters of Kumejima)


The Fisheries Agency announced on its website that it would be carrying out work to make stone cages for use in the directly-managed artificial upwelling current generation structures in the Goto-Nishikata-oki area in fiscal 2010.
(Part 1) and (Part 2)


In the FY2011 budget request, the Fisheries Agency has proposed a 12% decrease in public works spending from the previous year to 74.1 billion yen,
but has included 2.6 billion yen for the development of frontier fishing grounds.


According to our flow analysis, the efficiency of upwelling per unit volume of Artificial Sea Mountains constructed in deep water (approximately 160m) with strong density stratification is in the order of 20m>25m>30m in terms of peak height.
In addition, when comparing the shapes at the same height, the results showed that the Artificial Sea Mountains with a conical arrangement had a 10-15% higher upwelling efficiency per unit volume of structural object than the conventional mound type. This shape can also be constructed in deep water, even when considering the slope gradient of the current design mountain range of 1:2 and the scattering width of the blocks when they are dropped. (pdf)


The Fisheries Agency has announced the start of the selection process for participants in the competitive bidding process for the detailed design of the structure for the generation of upwelling currents off the west coast of the Goto Islands in FY2010, using the simplified public bidding method.


The situation of the ocean and measures taken regarding the ocean in 2010 were announced.
Part 2: Among the measures taken regarding the ocean, “Full-scale implementation of the Frontier Fishery Ground Development Project, in which the state develops fishing grounds”


Succeeded in filming the rise of bottom currents and fish shoals such as yellowtail and sea bream generated by the Artificial Sea Mountains off the west coast of Nagasaki City.
(Fisheries Economic Newspaper) The same center’s homepage (http://www.gosea.or.jp) is currently publishing this information in the Nagasaki Branch Office News section


The Frontier Fisheries Development Project Plan (Artificial Sea Mountains) was approved by the Japan Sea and Kyushu Western Regional Fisheries Adjustment Commission. Target area: Offshore of Goto Island, including 33°08’N, 128°31’E (designated by government ordinance). Target species: horse mackerel, chub mackerel, Japanese pilchard. Project cost: 8 billion yen. Project period: FY2010 – FY2014.


1.3 billion yen requested in the 2010 budget for the development of national frontier fishing grounds, including the Artificial Sea Mountains project


Deep-sea-compatible Artificial Sea Mountains unveiled on the ASMI website

〈December 25, 2009〉
Cabinet approves FY2010 budget plan, with ¥92.3 trillion for general account

〈November 2009〉
Presentation of Artificial Sea Mountains adaptable to continental shelves at CARAH (international conference) : Abstract of international conference presentation (PowerPoint)


Orders for 21st fiscal year Goto Islands western offshore water depth survey and geological survey work


22nd fiscal year Frontier Fishery Ground Development Direct Management Project request reduced to 1.3 billion yen


The budget for fisheries infrastructure and development projects was reduced to 29.5 billion yen as a result of a review of the supplementary budget for FY2009.


The Democratic Party of Japan won 308 seats in the House of Representatives election on August 30, resulting in a change of government.


1.5 billion yen requested for the Frontier Fishing Ground Development Direct Management Project in FY2010


The way in which fishing grounds are developed is being reconsidered, with emphasis on environmental changes and surrounding ecosystems.
A shift to “fisheries environment development” (Fisheries Economic News, 2009.8.3)
Artificial Sea-Mount Institute Corp. established

〈December 2008〉
Hazama Research Annual Report “Mixing of Water Masses and Fixation of Carbon Dioxide by Artificial Sea Mountains” published