With the aim of becoming a base for international research on fisheries and oceans, in April 2009, industry, government, and academia came together in the establishment of Fisheries and Oceans Hakodate, an organization to promote Hakodate as an ocean city. In this article I would like to introduce how Hakodate is moving ahead with its ocean-themed city promotion.

Vast amounts of debris have accumulated on the floor of the Seto Inland Sea, creating problems for fishing and environment. Small trawler fishermen daily remove debris from the sea floor and have it treated in communities and elsewhere along the coast, but there are still many areas where systems for retrieval and treatment are not in place. In future, there is a need for national and prefectural governments to take responsibility for establishing retrieval and treatment systems and preventing the occurrence of ocean debris.

Due to the extension of coast guard missions to international level, there is an increased need for the corresponding ability for international issues. This is the ability that the students at the Coast Guard Academy, the officers training institution for the Japan Coast Guard, should be able to acquire through a variety of international exchange programs.