The deep-sea cave exploration team “D-ARK” (Deep-sea Archaic Refugia in Karst) is conducting investigations around the Daito Islands, Okinawa Prefecture, to explore deep-sea caves and study the biodiversity in their surrounding environments. We also place great emphasis on outreach activities. During our expeditions, we have organized special online classes that connected our research vessel with elementary and junior high schools on the island, and have hosted exhibition events at aquariums to share our research findings with the public.

Coralline algae are a representative example of "calcareous algae," which harden their bodies with calcium carbonate to become rock-like. Research on them has been increasingly active for about 20 years as being organisms highly susceptible to ocean acidification. Recently, it has become understood that algal beds formed mainly by coralline algae are an important coastal ecosystem, maintaining biodiversity and with potential for blue carbon. This article provides an overview of recent research on coralline algae.

The satoumi activities begun in 2010 at Suma’s Seaside Aquarium, in collaboration with local fishermen, became the starting point for building trust with local residents and diverse local stakeholders. This led to the formation of the Suma Satoumi Association, whose satoumi activities aim to create a bountiful ocean through the regeneration of clams and the creation of seagrass beds. Furthermore, information on marine life and environments obtained from satoumi is being utilized in environmental education and awareness activities for citizens, thus enhancing the value of the replenished Suma Beach and underscoring the significance of sustaining satoumi over the long term.

Regional fisheries cities with sharply declining working-age populations have in recent years been battered by waves of change in the marine environment. In Kesennuma, initiatives are underway to achieve digitalization for improving the efficiency, labor-saving, and productivity of fisheries and aquaculture amid increasing uncertainty.

Since his inauguration this January, the US president has shifted to a transactional foreign policy strategy, where the US must directly benefit. This has included a new tariff regime, the dissolution of USAID, and rescission of most development and climate funding. Among Pacific Island Nations, this has hurt domestic value chains, shrunk national trust funds, triggered mass layoffs in development organizations, and drastically limited the funding available for emergency response. Other donors—including China—are unlikely to fill these gaps in the Pacific. Going forward, it will require creativity and collaboration to meet the outstanding needs of the region.