After losing everything in the Great East Japan Earthquake as well as enduring challenges by the anti-shark fishing campaign, the Blue Shark fishery run by the Kessenuma longline fleet has begun efforts to acquire International Sustainable Fishing Certification for its operations. While the usual motives for acquiring the Certification are to achieve product differentiation in the marketplace and an increase in added value, the Kessenuma longline fleet, in the midst of many difficulties, is making the first step towards Certification so as to enable it carry on its proud fishing tradition.

Regarding protection of our underwater cultural heritage, the "seafloor historical museum Econcept is thriving, with many countries already designating sites on the seafloor as historical monuments, making use of them as cultural and tourism resources. Along Japan's coasts, Okinawa's underwater cultural heritage is gaining attention, but the sites have yet even to be accurately mapped. In order to ensure its economically viable and reliable protection, the underwater cultural heritage should be made use of as an ocean resource that can also serve as cultural and tourism resources.

Since the first International Conference on the Environmental Management of Enclosed Coastal Seas (EMECS) was held in Kobe in 1990, they have been held every 2 to 3 years in a variety of places around the world. This article introduces the history, organization, and activities of the International EMECS Center (Public Interest Incorporated Foundation), the host of the EMECS Conferences.