【Reading】すいさんしゅびょう

【English Name】Aquatic Seedlings / Fish Seedlings

Suisan-shubyo (aquatic seedlings) is a collective term for the juvenile fish, spat, and larvae of fish, shellfish, and seaweed grown artificially for the purpose of aquaculture or resource enhancement.

In Japan, an Aquaculture Division is set up within the Resource Enhancement Promotion Department of the Fisheries Agency, charged with improving seedling production technology and promoting release projects. In addition, the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA), established in 2016, positions the development of sea-farming technology and the production and distribution of seedlings and specimens as one of its main duties.

Each prefecture is also equipped with fisheries experiment stations and fisheries technology centers, where research and production of seedlings suited to local fishery resources are steadily promoted. Fukushima Prefecture even has a dedicated Aquatic Seedling Research Institute.

In connection with sushi, as demand for farmed fish rises with the decline of natural resources, the stable supply of superior seedlings functions as an important factor that determines the quality and supply volume of sushi toppings. Red sea bream, flounder (hirame), and yellowtail species are cited as representative fish for which seedling production technology has been established.

Note that the Seeds and Seedlings Act, which targets the seedlings of agricultural crops, and the Center for Seeds and Seedlings (integrated into NARO in 2016) are systems aimed mainly at the registration and protection of plant varieties, and care must be taken that they differ from aquatic seedlings in jurisdiction and legal framework.