Last year the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a resolution calling for the GMA, a new system for the assessment of the state of the marine environment. The purpose of GMA is to strengthen international efforts to protect the oceans from the impact of various human activities that threaten the physical destruction of the marine environment. The Joint Group of Experts on the Scientific Aspects of Marine Environment & Protection (GESAMP), the UN's joint effort to provide independent scientific advice for assessment of the marine environment, is expected to play a key role in the establishment of GMA, and we hope that Japanese scientists and experts working in the marine environmental field would participate in the process providing significant contributions.

Coastal waters are critical for biodiversity, as they comprise just 8% of the world's oceans but are home to more than half of its living things. Today, when the importance of the natural environment is much discussed on a global scale, conventional classroom education is inadequate for systematic study of the oceans. The role of specialized facilities such as natural museums and aquariums in teaching the social sciences is becoming more important than ever.

The Senzan Maru, a whaling ship in the livery of the Tokushima Fiefdom, is the only ship of its kind in the world, as it is the only Edo-period, Japanese-made vessel to survive to the present day. Designated an Important National Treasure, the Senzan Maru has long generated interest among shipbuilding researchers but was little known to the general public. Today the Museum has a long-awaited opportunity to demonstrate the historical value of the Senzan Maru to a wider audience.