In 2009, West Africa's Guinea-Bissau, in accordance with domestic law, captured and confiscated the Panamanian registered M/V "Virginia G," claiming the ship carried out refueling operations, or bunkering, to a fishing vessel within Guinea-Bissau's EEZ. In response to Panama's claims regarding this incident, the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea delivered a decision largely dismissing the claims. In order to ensure safety for future bunkering on the oceans, we must consider the regulations in the domestic laws of each country as well as their consistency with the regulations in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The importance of ocean observation and data obtained from such observations has already been addressed many times in this Newsletter. Here, I will address the promotion of ocean observation, especially in the Southeast Asian region, and consider strategies to create a scheme for data sharing on coastal monitoring, which is said to be less than optimal. The involvement of Southeast Asian states in ocean observation projects will be essential for realization of the above objectives.

Young oyster farmers of Toba city's Uramura village began clam farming in order to take advantage of oyster farming's offseason. The new farming technology, which uses nutrients made from oyster shells and nets filled with gravel, was opened for public use so that the system could be used by as many people as possible, and not limited just to those in Uramura. It is our belief, that building connections among people involved in the fisheries industry will bring more prosperity and at the same time lead to a shift in fisheries that will help to preserve the environment and increase resources.