Nippon Suisan Gakkaishi 80 (5), 689-701 (2014)

An evaluation of Tokyo Bay as a marine space for Porphyra spp. farming: Evaluating marine spaces through quantitative examination of water environmental variables across categorized marine spaces, making use of multiple institutional data

KAZUMI WAKITA,1a* TAKEHISA YAMAKITA,2 KATSUMASA YAMADA,3
NOBUYUKI YAGI4 AND HISASHI KUROKURA4

1Ocean Policy Research Foundation, Minato, Tokyo 105-0001, 2Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology, Yokosuka, Kanagawa 237-0061, 3Seikai National Fisheries Research Institute, Fisheries Research Agency, Tairamachi, Nagasaki 851-2213, 4Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Bunkyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan

Through conducting an evaluation of Tokyo Bay as a marine space for Porphyra spp. farming, this paper demonstrates a way of evaluating marine spaces for specific sea-use objectives by quantitatively examining water environmental variables. Integrating water environmental data from three institutions, we conducted cluster analysis based on five water environmental variables utilizing GIS to categorize Tokyo Bay. As a result, Tokyo Bay was classified into six groups and visualized on a map. In order to find which of the six groups has good conditions for Porphyra spp. farming, we calculated average values, minimum and maximum values, and standard deviations of water environmental variables of the respective groups and then compared them using widely recognized growth and health criteria for Porphyra spp. As a result, one group, covering 388 km2 in Tokyo Inner Bay as well as the Kisarazu, Futtsu Cape North, and Hashirimizu Porphyra spp. farming areas, equivalent to 56% of existing Porphyra spp. farming areas in Tokyo Bay, was identified as having good conditions for Porphyra spp. farming.


  [BACK]  [TOP]