JAPAN SUSTAINABLE SEAFOOD AWARD

About Japan Sustainable Seafood Award

Japan Sustainable Seafood Award (JSSA) started in 2019 to strengthen the sustainable seafood movement in Japan. It recognizes the projects for seafood sustainability in Japan in that year as “finalists”, and honors the most impactful project as a “champion" among them.

This year, along with the concept of the tenth Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Summit that looks back and celebrates the path of the movement together, we will suspend the application. Instead, we will shed light on the past projects and would like to share their impacts with you.

And in 2025, the sixth JSSA’s ceremony will be held at the Expo 2025 Osaka where you can share your efforts with global audiences.

We will notice details on the official web page.

We are looking forward to your applications and seeing you next year!

Categories

  • Leadership Award

    Leadership Award is for a pioneer project aiming to expand the sustainable seafood movement in Japan by its own innovations and leadership. The project is executed by one or more companies/organizations, or a person.

  • Collaboration Award

    Collaboration Award is for an impactful multi-stakeholder collaborative project which took an innovative approach to drive the change in Japan.

  • U30 (under 30) Award

    U-30 Award is for a project run by an individual under age 30 or group(s) that is composed of mainly people under age 30. The concept and/or progress is more considered, as long as it’s designed for aiming seafod sustainability.

The 2023 Award Ceremony

Past Awardees

The information of each project is from that time.

5th
2023

Leadership Award 
Champion

Building a platform to "Enrich the world's oceans from Kita- Sanriku

Kita-Sanriku Factory
moova

“Isoyake," known as the desertification of the ocean, is a serious environmental and social issue in various countries, including Japan. It is caused by environmental changes such as global warming and is characterized by the overpopulation of sea urchins, which leads to the destruction of seaweed bed.
At the Kita-Sanriku Factory, we are working for "Sea Urchin Regeneration and Cultivation" to transform lean sea urchins, which have suffered due to the isoyake, into delicious sea urchins rather than disposing of them. We also promote "Seaweed bed restoration" using compost blocks made from sea urchin shells.
However, the awareness of the global issue of ocean desertification is still low, and to address the increasingly critical situation, we believe that more effort and innovative ideas are required. Therefore, we have established a platform that connects people and communities from various fields, not just those in the seafood industry, to take collective action in confronting this challenge.

Click here to read an
interview with Champion.

U-30 Award 
Champion

Developing future leaders through research projects of unused fishery resources

Miya Fisheries High School, Yamasa Chikuwa Co., Ltd., and Aichi Prefecture Freshwater Aquaculture Cooperation

In collaboration with Yamasa Chikuwa, our school has developed "Satsuma-age" (a type of deep-fried fish cake) using golden shrimp harvested by the Nishiura Fishermen's Cooperative in Gamagori City. Golden shrimp is a deep-sea shrimp that can be challenging to peel, and it is sometimes discarded even if caught. Although processing is labor-intensive, when heated, these shrimp display a vivid red color, making them particularly distinctive (they appear pale red when raw but become more vibrant when cooked). We have looked at the color change and turned the powdered shrimp into surimi, which is then provided to local school lunch programs and other initiatives.
By collaborating with local businesses to process locally-caught seafood, we aim to spark students' interest in the seafood industry and nurture the next generation of professionals. This project not only promotes local sustainability but also educates and engages students in the importance of local seafood production.

Click here to read an
interview with Champion.

Special Award

Sustainable fisheries through complete order-based fishing

Kunimi-maru

Our business concept is a sustainable fishery with the concept of "Your Exclusive Fisherman," which is the first of its kind in Japan, known as "Complete Order-based Fishing." It is a novel fishery system that incorporates a made-to-order production from nature by using e-commerce sites and social media to accept built-to-order from consumers.
Traditionally, fishermen catch fish at their convenience and supply them to the market. Our “Complete Order-based Fishing”, on the other hand, is the opposite of the conventional fishing system. It represents a new business model that can address current challenges in the fishing industry, such as overfishing of fishery resources, price instability, overworked fishermen, and a shortage of successors.
”Complete Order-based Fishing” aims to bring innovation to the fishing industry while preserving resources for the future. We are currently in the process of applying for the prefecture's business innovation plan.

4th
2022
3rd
2021
2nd
2020
1st
2019
Host
Co-Host