The 20th Franco-Japanese Oceanography Symposium takes shape

After Caen in France in 2023, it will be time for Japan, two years later, to host the 20th Franco-Japanese Oceanography Symposium. It will take place in Toba from 25 to 30 November 2025.

Situated on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, the town is in the Mie Prefecture in the natural park of Ise-Shiba.

Toba is the city of cultured pearls. This type of pearl farming was developed at the beginning of the 20th century by Mikimoto Kokichi. Associated with this pearl culture are the Amas divers who collect the seafood by snorkelling, sometimes at an advanced age.

It is therefore a place where we will be able to develop themes such as fishing and shellfish farming, but also an integrated approach highlighted by the two SFJOs and combining Nature and Culture.

Two main sessions are planned and will be defined more precisely by key words:

Session 1 – Oceanography and Fisheries coordinated by Ifremer and FRA Japan.

Session 2 – The concept of Satoumi and integrated approaches, coordinated by the two SFJOs and EMECS.

Prior to this, on 24 November at the Maison Franco-Japonaise in Tokyo, a conference will be held for a wider audience on the concept of participatory approaches, integrating the Satoumi – Satoyama concept and the link between Nature and Culture.

Located in the Shibuya district of Tokyo, this French establishment under the dual supervision of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and the CNRS has a long tradition of collaboration with the two French-Japanese Oceanography Societies. The Honorary President of the SFJO France, Professor Hubert-Jean Ceccaldi, was one of the predecessors (from 1988 to 1992) of Professor Christophe Marquet, its current Director.