By Lyn Reed, Chief Officer of Operations, Reed Mariculture, Inc
During our recent visit to Japan, we gained a deep appreciation for the traditional, unrelenting attention to detail that even today remains a foundation of Japanese culture. It is conspicuous in all aspects of Japanese culture – in traditional dress, temples and shrines, gardens, and many social customs, especially in the presentation of food. The Japanese have a word for the devotion to quality in even the smallest details: kodawari. Kodawari has been roughly translated to mean “a sincere, unwavering focus on what you are doing; and uncompromising and relentless devotion to pursuing something; giving special attention to a particular subject matter.” For the Japanese, kodowari is a way of life.
A tradition of food from the sea
We also learned a lot about Japan’s affinity for foods from the sea, which has led to a long history of aquaculture. To assure a reliable source of aquatic feeds, fish farming came into practice in the ponds of palaces as early as 100 B.C., by some accounts. Aqua-farming technology developed and improved over the centuries to encompass more and more of the varied species of seafood that were, and still are, a regular part of the daily Japanese diet. In the 1930s, Japan became the first country to call out intensive farming of marine fish in enclosures – Japanese amberjack, mackerel, and sea bream. The 1950s brought the development of cage culture, which led to major gains in productivity and brought aquaculture to the level we see today, with culture of several dozen species of fish throughout all 47 prefectures. Hatcheries and nurseries close the loop, reducing the impact of wild populations while allowing the people of Japan to maintain their culinary traditions.
Kodawari in action
The highlight of our visit to Japan was a tour of the Marubeni Nisshin Feed Company (MNF) Chita Feed Mill, the site of much of their fish feed production for both domestic and international markets. The Chita Feed Mill started operations in 1968. When Marubeni Feeds and Nisshin Feed joined forces in 2003, MNF dedicated the Chita factory solely to the production of feed mixes and fish feeds, separating fish feed production from all land animal-based feeds. The increasing reliance on aquaculture makes maintaining and increasing the availability of premium quality aquatic animal feeds a major focus for MNF.