Along with the aging of society, travel patterns have been steadily changing in a shift towards slow tourism. Among these, the cruise has become a synonym for leisurely travel. Fortunately, the Seto Inland Sea abounds in natural beauty, historical romance, and delicious seafood. Judging from the popularity of the cruise among those Americans who have visited the Seto Inland Sea, I believe we should promote this form of tourism not only domestically, but abroad as well, making it a centerpiece of the Visit Japan Campaign.

In recent years, there has been increased attention, centered on the UN, to the conservation of the deep seabed environment, where it is thought 98% of marine species live. Damage done by trawl fishing to fish species and the fragile ecosystems of deep seabed like cold water reefs has been especially pointed out, and protective measures are now being discussed. As a major maritime nation, Japan should be proactive in adopting effective measures to conserve this final frontier on planet Earth.

As our knowledge of ocean ecosystems is a fragmentary one, there is a need to develop management policies to reduce risks from indiscriminate fishing based on uncertain data. In recent years, "adaptive management" has received much attention as a robust means for dealing with this uncertainty. Appropriate introduction of a framework for adaptive management would undoubtedly make a large contribution to the sustainable use of fishery resources. Along with defining adaptive management, this paper will examine its possibilities as well as its limits.
Selected Papers No.10(p.23)