Deputy chief of the Earth Simulator Development Team of Japan Atomic Energy Research Institute/

Chief of the system management group of Earth Simulator Center, Japan Marine Science and Technology Center

　

　

 The existence of mankind is endangered if we cannot predict the complex effects of global warming on the ocean and take appropriate countermeasures in advance. Prediction of the effects, however, is a very tough task to tackle.

 Global warming occurs as a result of complicated interactions of various large-scale phenomena. To predict the effects of global warming, large-scale simulations must be performed. Through such simulations, the circulation in atmospheric air and the ocean, iceberg effects, chemical reactions of CO2, changes in the ecosystems of forests, plankton, and a great diversity of other natural processes must be computed simultaneously. To predict the effects of global warming accurately, the capacity of currently available supercomputers is far less than the required capacity level; a computation speed far greater than the speed of supercomputers is required to perform such large-scale simulations.

　

 A world ocean map colorfully depicting the oceanographic state of the ocean was put up on the wall of the Earth Simulator Research and Development Center¹⁾ where I work. It represents the results of computations that a supercomputer called the "Earth Simulator" performed to simulate the temperatures of the surfaces of the ocean during the period of four months starting on January 1st in a certain typical year. (see Figure 1) An ocean global circulation simulation program called MOM3 was used to run the supercomputer. Because modifications and improvements to this program were made during the simulation to allow it to operate efficiently on the Earth Simulator, the results shown on the map are not significant in terms of scientific accuracy. It should be noted, however, that a large number of data points are established on the ocean, and data are processed and plotted in ultrafine meshes of 0.1 degrees in both latitudinal and longitudinal directions.

　

 The Earth Simulator is the world's fastest supercomputer capable of executing 40 trillion steps of addition, subtraction, multiplication and division per second. It was conceived and developed by Mr. Miyoshi, who was the general manager of the Earth Simulator Research and Development Center. It will be completed soon and start operation in March for users who do research to predict changes in the global environment.

 The history of the development of supercomputers in the world has been a development competition between Japan and the U.S. In Japan Mr. Miyoshi was always playing the leading role in developing vector computers and accomplished a great achievement of increasing the computation speed 2.5 million times as fast after enhancing the computer capability in a number of development stages.

　

　

 Regrettably, Mr. Miyoshi passed away in November last year.

 When he was in the hospital, he often said, "The Earth Simulator is merely a box if it is idle. Using such a large-scale vector parallel computer will be a new experience for both the operator and the user. Two to three years from now are a very important period. As the operator, you must think from scratch and develop an efficient operating method. Support the user with the mindset that you educate and raise Japanese user groups who can make a world-class contribution. This is the mission that you at the Earth Simulator Center ²⁾ must accomplish."

 Now is the time when the operator and user of the Earth Simulator bring their wisdom together and cooperate closely. I hope that the application software suitable for the world's fastest computer system developed by Mr. Miyoshi will be developed and introduced to the world from here. We must carry out the project to provide the operator and the user with the motivation and the will to develop such application software and introduce the true power of the Earth Simulator to the world.

　

 Should true researchers devote themselves only to writing papers? Asked this question, I find it difficult to give a clear answer. If researchers called to a project site have a very high academic level, each researcher wants to be the first to announce a research paper to the world and gives the highest priority to writing his or her own research papers. I suppose that there are few researchers who have the motivation and latitude to take serious interest in achieving a project goal. On the other hand, a national government responsible for managing the progress of a project does the best to acquire a budget when proposing or starting the project, but the interest in the project that has entered an operation stage wanes off quickly as new projects emerge every year and there are changes in the personnel. To make a project successful by preventing such a situation, it is necessary to gather the people who can perceive the achievement of a project goal as one of the important goals in their life and maintain a strong will to pursue the goal (loyalty to a project). The framework of organization does not exist; the only thing that exists for them is the science plan (research target) to be carried out.

 I also hope that the people who have been playing the world's leading role in the field of collection and analysis of oceanic data use the Earth Simulator to accomplish even higher research goals.

　

　

　

Mayor of Himi City

　

　

 Himi City is known for some historic places that appear in the poems in the Collection of Myriad Leaves (Manyoshu), in which Yakamochi Otomo, a famous poet lived in the 8th century, wrote many poems. It is located at the root of the Noto Peninsula, facing Toyama Bay, and blessed with the bounties of the sea from the olden times of the Jomon Period (about from 12,000 years ago to 2,000 years ago). Our ancestors loved the sea and were thankful for the sea resources on which they subsisted, and appreciated the change of the look in each season, though they sometimes had to go through the hardships caused by the sea. They developed the Ecchu-type (Ecchu is the old name for Toyama Prefecture) set-net and handed the techniques of making the net and fishing using the set-net from generation to generation. The set-net fishing should be called a traditional local culture. The sea supported the lives of our ancestors and the lives of us today. In the Himi fishing port, which is the largest fishing port in Toyama Prefecture, we see tunas in summer, winter yellowtails in winter, and other kinds of "kito-kito" (means very fresh in Toyama's dialect) fish being unloaded from boats to the quay. They are delivered as Himi-brand fish to all parts of Japan.

 Looking back over the past, we exploited aquatic resources in pursuit of economic affluence, damaged the marine environment, the essence of life, and caused some fish species to become extinct. The number of people engaged in fishery is decreasing, and the aging of fishermen progresses in Japan. Himi City, called "City of Fishery," is also experiencing the diminution of fishermen and the aging.

 In this situation, I strongly feel that fishery must be maintained as a main industry and that practical measures must be implemented to vitalize the fishing industry. It is our responsibility to take good care of aquatic resources, make fishery a sustainable industry, ensure the stable supply of nutrient-rich fish and shellfish, protect the marine environment, and inherit the rich aquatic resources. We must take action to fulfill this responsibility.

　

　

 Mr. Fuse, professor of the Yokohama City University and manager of the Japanese branch of the International Ocean Institute (IOI), which is an NGO developing international activity, asked Himi City to provide support in helping developing countries learn fishing techniques. We proposed the Ecchu-type set-net fishing by noting the following features:

  With the Ecchu-type set-net fishing as a nucleus of the aid program, we formulated the following projects:

 In 2000 we started to implement these projects.

 In 2000 an executive committee was organized with the participation of representatives of the Toyama prefecture government, fishery organizations and international exchange organizations, and learned and experience people. An international project for hands-on training for set-net fishing was drawn up and implemented late in August. The Costa Rica and Chinese governments were contacted through the IOI network, and trainees were invited from the Republic of Costa Rica and Liaoning province in China under the sponsorship of the executive committee. They received hands-on training in set-net fishing, learned the set-net fishing techniques, and had opportunities to know the Japanese culture.

 To ensure the sound and sustainable development of fishery and the stable supply of marine products as a source of valuable food for us, the "World and Future Linked by Sea 2000" symposium was held, featuring the protection of the marine environment. Lectures on fishery and the use of deep water were given by first-class researchers, and many citizens and people engaged in fishery attended these lectures.

　

  In 2001 the Himi set-net fishing exchange team organized by people engaged in fishery, those of the municipal government, and students in the fishery department of a prefecture high school in Himi City was dispatched to Costa Rica. The team brought a set-net reduced to about a hundredth the size of the actual net and showed it to people concerned in the fishery administration, researchers and fishermen. They also showed them how set-net fishing is practiced and provided them with technical training.

 People and the mass media in Costa Rica, which leads the world in the field of environmental protection, gave various opinions to the team. Some of the opinions are as follows:

 We pledged that we would exchange information and deepen friendly relations through the project.

 While technical training was given, the feasibility of a one-year fishery experiment using a model net was discussed. It was decided that research of the University of Costa Rica and the local fishery operators jointly collect data by performing set-net fishing using the model net and verify whether set-net fishing is suitable for Costa Rica or not. We will exchange information and provide advice about technical questions that they will send to us.

　

 On November 10 and 11, a forum entitled "Environment and food as viewed from the set-net fishing" was given. People concerned in fishery, researchers, people of administrative offices, and many citizens from all parts of Japan (from Hokkaido to Okinawa) participated in the forum. In a keynote speech entitled "The 21 st-century fishery to pursue the sustainable use of resources," it was proposed that people engaged in fishery should spontaneously control the aquatic resources to achieve the sustainable production of marine products and that the set-net fishing method should be used as an effective fishing method for conserving aquatic resources and ensuring the sustainable production of marine products.

 In the forum, a panel discussion was held about the subject "Fishery that allows us to conserve the sea, fish, environment and food." Features and benefits of the set-net fishing method were pointed out as follows:

 It was confirmed in this panel discussion that set-net fishing is environment-friendly, contributes to the preservation of aquatic resources, and therefore should be used as a main fishing method for the 21st century.

　

  We plan to hold the "World Set-net Summit in Himi"(tentative name) to build a global partnership for the protection of the global marine environment using the set-net fishing and to propose the set-net fishing for the new age. To this summit, we will invite administration officials of nations that lead the world in the field of the set-netting fishery, those of developing countries that are working seriously to protect fishery resources and to improve the life of fishermen, people of international cooperation organizations, representatives of administrative organizations in Japan, and so forth.

 Set-net fishing is not limited to the production of marine products. We should note that it has many other functions. Everything of the relations between man and the sea is condensed in the set-net fishing method. It has a long history, a unique culture, and provides a clue to the solution of the environment and food shortage problems facing mankind today. I want to continue to study set-net fishing, which is handed down to us today in an unbroken line, from various different angles, to reconfirm the significance of spreading this fishing method, to propose the most appropriate set-net fishing method suitable for the coming age, to spread information on the set-net fishing home and abroad, to increase the power of our community, and to make Himi City the pride of our citizens.