Vol. 18 No. 1 March 2007ISSN: 1053-590XOceanic Institute University of Hawaii41-202 Kalanianaole Hwy 3050 Maile Way, Gilmore 124Waimanalo, HI 96795 Honolulu, HI 96822

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Kodama Koi Farm ExpandsTaro Kodama looks very American in blue jeans, running shoes, and aTommy Hilfiger polo shirt. In fact, he looks a lot like an entrepreneurstraight out of Silicon Valley. Yet his quiet confidence is very Japanese.Reserved instead of exuberant, Kodama speaks matter-of-factly aboutKodama Koi Farm Inc. and the dramatic expansion that he’s leading.

He’s an entrepreneur all right. During an interview in mid-February at the company’s 20-acre farm site at Mililani AgriculturalPark, he revealed a bold vision. The family business currently sellsabout 800 koi—the king of ornamental fish—per month directly tocustomers in the United States through its Web site, Kodama says.When asked about future expectations, he calmly stated a fewstartling figures. By the end of the year, he wants sales to individualsto reach 4,000 koi per month—a 400 percent increase. Also by theend of 2007, he wants wholesale transactions, a part of the businessthat began only days ago, to reach 10,000 koi per month.

Such an outlook attests to how big Kodama believes theopportunity is in selling koi from Japan to Americans and eventually tohobbyists and retail outlets around the globe. “This farm will be ourhub to the world,” says Kodama, who is president of Kodama KoiFarm, the online business and growth engine of Miyoshiike Co. Ltd.,the business his father Mamoru Kodama started about 40 years ago inJapan. Development efforts focus on the United States, but the goal isto in the future sell to Canada, South America, and Europe, he says.

To follow this dream, his family and their business moved toOahu in January 2006, leaving his brother Hidenobu and fiveemployees in Japan. The company began selling Japanese koi toU.S. customers in 2001 through online auctions on its Web site andestablished a small distribution center in Southern California.

Today, an impressive facility in Mililani includes 50 5,000-gallonquarantine tanks and 72 40,000-gallon growout tanks. The farm isalready much larger than would have been possible in Japan orCalifornia, says Kodama , who plans to add 50 more growout tanks.

In Hawaii, he says, he found the right combination of availableland, location, weather, and water quality. Kodama admits that laborand other costs are higher in Hawaii than anticipated but maintainsthat the choice to come to Hawaii benefits his family’s business.

One clear advantage is warm weather. “It’s still cold in Japan,even in California,” he says. Koi, or as they say in Japan, “nishikigoi,”are temperate freshwater fish and can adapt to water temperatures of

47 °F to 95 °F, but optimal temperatures range from 68 °F to 77 °F, andsudden temperature changes of more than 9 °F are undesirable,according to information from the International Nishikigoi PromotionCenter, a nonprofit group for which Mamoru Kodama is chairman.

In Hawaii’s consistently warm climate, explains Taro Kodama,koi fingerlings grow at a fast rate. Fingerlings arrive at Kodama KoiFarm from Japan at an age of two to three months and a size ofabout three inches. A mere three months later, the fish reach eightto 10 inches, a length that more normally would be found in one-year-old koi. (Koi are known to grow to 36 inches or more.)

Upon arrival at the family farm, fingerlings go into quarantinetanks first for at least three weeks before they move to growouttanks. Many of the fish will grow out to maturity for two to threeyears before sale, but others will be sold earlier and later. Knowingwhich koi to sell when is an essential part of the business. TaroKodama once sold a single fish for $35,000, he says, and he’s heardof koi going for as much as $200,000. Such prices aren’t typical. Notall koi can win a Champion of Champions or best-in-show award.

Knowing which young koi will grow into show qualityspecimen worth several thousands of dollars is an expertise that

Mamoru Kodama (left) and his son Taro at their family farm in Mililani,where koi fingerlings, upon arrival from Japan, are quarantined for at leastthree weeks in the netted 5,000-gallon tanks behind them.

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Oceanic Institute succeeds in shrimp breedingBy Jim Borg, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, February 16, 2007Researchers at the Oceanic Institute report dramatic success in breeding shrimp to increasetheir size and disease resistance. The findings spell good news for the popular penaeid familyof shrimp, a $9.7 billion industry worldwide, per the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization.

The institute produces 120,000 Pacific white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, per year byraising 500 shrimp from each of 240 genetically distinct families, says program director ShaunMoss. This selective breeding has increased the weight of harvested shrimp by 8.3 percent andimproved survival rate by 7.9 percent per generation over three generations, he says.

Moss will present his findings in San Francisco today at the annual meeting of theAmerican Association for the Advancement of Science.

NOAA seeks increased funds for Bush ocean planBy Michael Deehan, CongressDaily, February 9, 2007President Bush’s fiscal 2008 request for the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) will let the agency continue its core mission even under strictdiscretionary spending limits, NOAA Administrator Conrad Lautenbacher Jr. said Thursday.

Many of NOAA’s programs are “crucial to the nation’s competitiveness,” he said.Lautenbacher said the request of $3.8 billion for his agency is 3.7 percent more than what thepresident requested for fiscal 2007. But Congress gave NOAA $3.9 billion in both fiscal 2005and fiscal 2006, as well as in the pending fiscal 2007 continuing resolution before the Senate.

Among the highlights of the request are a $123 million increase funding for Bush’s U.S.Ocean Action Plan, with $60 million dedicated to scientific research. Legislatively, Lautenbachersaid the NOAA Organic Act, a charter for the agency’s existence and mission, is the primarypriority and noted others, such as Bush’s proposed legislation to encourage the developmentof aquaculture, a concern he said is of personal interest to Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.

Hawaii turns to other Pacific cultures for preservation adviceBy Tara Godvin, Associated Press, February 5, 2007Experts say Hawaii has much to learn—or relearn—from less developed neighbors like Fijito preserve its precious ocean resources. “Things these cultures have kept alive for millennia,we’re just beginning to discover in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands,” said RandyKosaki, NOAA research coordinator for the national marine monument.

Oceania welcomed Hawaii back into the fold last week at an international forum inHonolulu attended by 20 Pacific nations and states discussing marine management areasand the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World HeritageSite process for nominating new areas to be protected.

Pacific island nations are far ahead of Hawaii in terms of blending traditional ecologicalknowledge and Western science, Kosaki said. In Pohnpei, when the Conservation Society ofPohnpei wanted to create local preserves, members simply asked local elders to point out fishspawning grounds, he said. But in Hawaii, those vital answers can only be gained by trainedscientists conducting long studies to discover “spawning aggregations.”

Task force recommends strong regulationBy Sean Hao, The Honolulu Advertiser, January 9, 2007The United States Congress should impose strong environmental standards to regulatethe location and practice of offshore marine aquaculture, recommends the MarineAquaculture Task Force in a report released yesterday. The panel also suggests that thefederal government should provide funding and incentives for research, development,and deployment of technologies and techniques for sustainable marine aquaculture.

The group recommended that the cultivation of nonnative and genetically modified speciesbe avoided. Additionally, NOAA should take the lead in regulation and development.

REGIONAL NOTES is pub-lished four times per year bythe Center for Tropical andSubtropical Aquaculture undera grant from the U.S. Department ofAgriculture’s Cooperative State Research,Education, and Extension Service.

Editor: Kathryn DennisCTSA, University of Hawaii3050 Maile Way, Gilmore Hall 124Honolulu, Hawaii 96822-2231Tel: (808) 956-3529Fax: (808) 956-5966E-mail: kedennis@hawaii.eduWeb site: www.ctsa.org

Available in alternate format upon requestfor persons with print disabilities.

Printed on recycled paper

Letter fromthe director

The CTSA board of directors approved ourYear 20 Plan of Work at its last meeting onJan. 23 (See box on Page 3). The board alsoapproved nominations for the next three-year term of the Industry Advisory Council(IAC), a list formed from industry membersand government officials who hadexpressed interest in serving on the council.

The new IAC, along with TechnicalCommittee members, are currentlydeveloping problem statements fromproblem areas identified by stakeholders.Industry members may contact an IACmember or the CTSA administrative staffwith their input on problem areas, difficultiesthat with support from CTSA could beovercome to further industry development.

These problem statements will make upthe Year 21 Request for Pre-Proposals. Itwill be too late to put the RFP in the nextnewsletter, so keep an eye on our Web sitefor it in March. Don’t miss this chance toget involved.

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Coral farms grow in Pohnpei, Marshall IslandsThanks to innovative collaboration between private, nonprofit, andgovernment agencies, marine invertebrate farming is beginning to payrewards to grass-roots farmers and private companies alike in theFederated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of the MarshallIslands (RMI). In Pohnpei, FSM, the Marine and EnvironmentalResearch Institute of Pohnpei (MERIP) is working withseven local farmers to produce just one species of softcoral, a Sarcophyton with bright green polyps, for export.

Using contract farming, MERIP provides substantialtechnical and marketing assistance to farmers, while itmaintains a central farm thathelps guarantee consistentproduction.

Work is also underwayto develop new species forculture, such as additionalSarcophyton species, thestony Acropora spp., andsome zoanthids. Anexpanding product linemeans support for morefarmers and increases inoverall production.

More than 30 farmers inPohnpei may eventuallyparticipate in this program.All farmers chosen for thisproject have and will comefrom communities thatsupport Marine ProtectedAreas in Pohnpei. Income gained from selling corals provides analternative income to fishing for these communities.

Demand for live coral is growing. The quantity of live coralstraded for the marine aquarium market increased tenfold from 1985to between 600 and 700 tons in 1997, more than half the global coraltrade that year, and continues to grow 20%–30% a year, accordingto the World Conservation Monitoring Centre, an arm of the United

Nations Environment Programme. The Ornamental Aquatic TradeAssociation reports that about 3,000 tons of coral (live and dead)enter international trade each year for use in aquariums.

The keeping of the so-called “reef tanks” that contain livecorals, is particularly popular in the United States. In 1996, the U.S.

imported 80% of all live corals in thetrade, representing at least 350,000pieces, according to the MarineAquarium Council (MAC).

Much of this live coral iscollected from the wild—not cultured.Only 2% of marine species sold in theaquarium industry today are cultured,per MAC. Hopefully, farm-raised coralwill account for a rising share of livecoral trade, given increasing globalawareness of coral reef exploitationand interest in conservation.

The form of farming used in thePohnpei coral project is sustainable and endorsed by Pohnpei’s leadingconservation agency, the Conservation Society of Pohnpei (CSP).

Project partners in Pohnpei include the CSP, Pacific Aquacultureand Coastal Resources Center (PACRC) of the University of Hawaiiat Hilo, and the Pohnpei State Department of Marine Development.These partners primarily help with funding, logistics, permitting,and community liaising. This project also is seen as a success forCTSA, which supported projects to develop marine ornamentalfarming throughout its region for many years, starting with giantclams in the late 1980s and corals in the 1990s.

Key to this project’s success has been collaboration with theMarshall Islands Mariculture Farm (MIMF), the largest commercialproducer of farmed giant clams and corals in greater Micronesia. Thisfarm was once owned by Robert Reimers Enterprises (RRE), whichpioneered giant clam farming in the region with significant assistancefrom CTSA. MIMF is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Ft. Pierce,Fla.-based Ocean Reefs and Aquariums (ORA), the world’s largestproducer of farm-raised clown fishes.

UPDATEYear 20 Plan of Work. CTSA’s Board of Directors met on Jan. 23and approved 10 proposals (listed here) as part of our Year 20 Plan ofWork, which was sent on Jan. 31 to the USDA for final approval.• Developing Bivalve Culture to Diversify and Position Hawaii as aSupplier of Safe, Premium, Edible Shellfish Products, Years 1 and 2• Artificially Propagating the Feather-Duster Worm, Sabellastartespectabilis, for the Marine Ornamental Trade• Inter-Institutional Coordination and Preparation of a GuamAquaculture Plan• Kahala Broodstock Management• Kahala Parasites and Shrimp Viruses of Concern to Pacific Aquaculture• Improving Pearl Quality by Grafting Technologies and HusbandryMethods for Development of a Hatchery-Based Black Pearl Industryin Pohnpei, the Federated States of Micronesia, Years 1 and 2

• Development of a Black Pearl Culture Industry in the Republic ofthe Marshall Islands (RMI)—Addressing Critical Hatchery andNursery Bottlenecks, Years 1 and 2• Shrimp Production Demonstration Project and Aquaculture Trainingfor Industry Stakeholders of the Commonwealth of the NorthernMariana Islands (CNMI) and Guam, Years 1 and 2• Improving Outputs in the Commercial-Scale Production of Swordtails,Year 2• Development of Captive Culture Technology for the Yellow Tang,Zebrasoma flavescens, Years 1–3Erin Kochi leaves CTSA. Kochi, who served the center well asadminstrative assistant for almost 15 months, in February joined theHawaii State Department of Health, where she hopes to put herchemistry background to good use. We wish her all the best!

Continued on Page 7

Aber Rosario places coralof the Sarcophyton speciesfor growout. Above: Workwith hard coral Acroporaspp. is also underway.

Photos courtesy of MERIP

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Parasite screening of freshwater ornamental fishimported into the state of Hawaii

Dee Montgomery-Brock and Teresa D. Lewis

Oceanic Institute and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, University of Hawaii at Manoa

This article was written as part of the work for the project titled, “Disease Management in Pacific Aquaculture,Year 12,” whichwas funded by the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture under a grant from the U.S. Department of AgricultureCooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service.

IntroductionThe history of raising captive ornamental fish expands back several

thousands of years in China (Matena and Berka 1987). Carp culture inrice fields was an ancient practice, and the carp were considered to bea good source of protein (Xiuzhen 2003). Eventually, people started tokeep fish in ponds and large pots, not as a food source but as decorativepets. Chinese sources from the 16th century tell of goldfish bredespecially as ornamental pets (Banister and Adams 1977). By the turnof the 19th century, this practice had spreadand a large number of imported ornamentalfish were entering the United States, primarilyfrom South America and Asia (Klee 2003).

The ornamental fish trade in the U.S. is asubstantial business with an estimated valueof $1.2 billion in 2002. More than half that valuecame from cultured fish, as total sales byproducers was estimated at $69 million(Yanong et al. 2005). Ornamental fish tradersin Hawaii contribute to this industry byimporting fish from Asia and the mainland U.S.These fish are sometimes re-packed andshipped out of state but often sold locally.Unfortunately, pathogens occasionallyaccompany imported fish—a concern of localand global importance.

Many countries, including the U.S., havemounted national task forces that focus onaquatic animal health. Efforts by global entitieslike the OIE (World Health Organization for Animals) can be seen in thegrowing number of conferences focusing on the shared responsibilityof aquatic animal health. There is an international rallying call for strongcommitment to aquatic animal health issues.

Prompted by industry requests, CTSA funded a study to determinewhat types of parasites were introduced into Hawaii through the import

of freshwater ornamental fish. Data collected on fish species importedwas correlated to the prevalence of parasites and the country of origin.

MethodsFor this study, a Hawaii trader of imported freshwater ornamentals

supplied from March through November 2006 a total of 626 fish, allpacked in the water used for original transport to Hawaii. Fish wereprocessed individually. Wet mount microscopy exams were conducted

on mucus, gill, intestine, kidney, liver, spleen,brain, and muscle from each fish. Mucus wasscraped from skin with a single-edgerazorblade, and target tissues were cut fromeach fish. Fresh smears were prepared onslides in a drop of water under a cover slipand examined for the presence of parasites.

All samples were identified by species,country of origin, parasite observed, andtissue infected. Parasite data was presentedas prevalence (percentage of fish sampledthat were infected) and abundance (totalnumber of individuals of a particular parasitedetected in a sample of hosts divided bythe total number of hosts sampled).

ResultsIn total, 626 specimens of 23 different

species were sampled from 12 differentcountries of origin (See Table 1). South

America (Ecuador) was the origin for 4% of the imported fish, 13%originated from the United States, and the remaining 83% wereimported from various countries in Asia.

Ciliates (Chilodonella, Trichodina, and Ichthyopthirius),flagellates (Ichthyoboda) and monogenean trematodes (Gyrodactylus)were observed microscopically on the skin from 12 species of fish. In

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Ca total of 13 cases, ciliates (Chilodonella, Trichodina, andIchthyopthirius), flagellates (Ichthyoboda), monogenean trematodes(Dactylogyrus) and digenean trematodes (not identified to genus)were observed microscopically on the gills of fish. Flagellates(Hexamita) and nematodes (not identified to genus) were observedin the intestine of three species of fish.

Parasites were observed only on the skin, gills, and/or in theintestine. No parasites were observed in the other organs or fromexamination of the muscle. The parasites observed in this study(see Table 2) have been reported previously in Hawaiian freshwatertropicals, and no novel parasites were identified (Montgomery-Brock, personal observation). Parasite abundance varied, with thedragon goby having the highest average abundance of both skinand gill parasites (212 and 49 parasites, respectively). In the otherspecies surveyed, low to moderate numbers of parasites wereobserved ranging from 1 to 25 parasites per affected tissue. Allpainted tiger barbs, guppies, platyfish, lyretail mollies, neongouramis, and angelfish sampled for this study were negative.

To break down the parasite exam results by country of origin,one species of fish from South America—the dragon goby—hadthe highest level of skin and gill parasites (100% prevalence). Fishfrom the U.S. were either negative or had very low levels of parasites(less than or equal to 5% prevalence). The fish from Asia had abroad range of parasite prevalence. Out of the 19 species of fishfrom Asia, 43% had parasite levels at a 70–100% prevalence level.

Most of the sampled fish had low levels of parasites ( less than3 parasites per fish). No correlation between country of origin andparasite prevalence should be made from this report, becausestatistical robustness would require an increased number of eachspecies and multiple shipments from various companies abroad.

DiscussionUnexpectedly, most of the fish with high levels of parasites

appeared to be healthy and were in fact quite active and difficult tonet. In addition, they exhibited no behavioral signs such as “flashing”indicative of parasite infestations. In only two instances did a fishwith a high parasite load appear moribund in the shipment bag (oneclown loach from Malaysia, one goldfish from China).

The observation of parasite prevalence and abundance at levelshigher in fish from Asia than in fish from other regions is not asignificant one, since Asia was the origin for the majority of fishsampled. It is not unexpected that this particular group of fish wouldshow more variation in the type and quantity of parasites. Also,more samples from the Americas would need to be included to assignany statistical significance to this finding. We had anticipated asample set larger than the actual one used, but the the number ofcompanies importing freshwater ornamentals into Hawaii droppedbetween the time of proposal and the actual study period.

Regardless, the results of this study serve as an alert to Hawaiiimporters and reemphasize the need to quarantine imported fish toprevent the possible spread of pathogens to cultured fishpopulations in Hawaii. Also, the accidental transmission ofpathogens from imported fish to native fish populations can havedevastating consequences. The potential for harm cannot bestressed enough. As always, recipients of imported fish should beon the lookout for signs of stress and/or disease and follow anestablished protocol for quarantine for new imports.

AcknowledgementFunding for this work was provided by the Center for Tropical

and Subtropical Aquaculture through Grant No. 2004-38500-14602from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Cooperative State, Research,Education, and Extension Service.

ReferencesBanister, K. and T. Adams. 1977. Aquarial fish. London: Frederich

Müller Ltd.Klee, A. J. 2003. The toy fish: A history of the aquarium hobby in

America—The first one hundred years. Rev. and Exp. ed.Pascoag, Rhode Island: Finley Aquatic Books.

Matena, J. and R. Berka. 1987. Fresh-water fish-pond managementin the world. In Managed aquatic ecosystems, ed. R. G. Michael.Vol. 29 of Ecosystems of the world. New York: Elsevier SciencePublishing.

Xiuzhen, F. 2003. Rice and fish culture in China. Aquaculture Asia8(4):4 –46.

Yanong, R. P. E., E. W. Curtis, R. Simmons, V. E. A. Bhattaram, M.Gopalakrishnan, N. Ketabi, N. V. Nagraja, and H. Derendorf.2005. Pharmacokinetic studies of florfenicol in koi carp andthreespot gourami Trichogaster trichopterus after oral andintramuscular treatment. Journal of Aquatic Animal Health17:129–137. L

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Kodama continued from Page 1

the Kodama family and others bring to the business. Kodama KoiFarm also benefits from close relationships with the top breeders inJapan’s Niigata prefecture—relationships nurtured over decades.

The breeding of nishikigoi began more than 200 years ago inthe Yamakoshi village of Niigata. In ponds used to irrigate riceterraces, farmers raised black carp (Cyprinus carpio) for protein.One day farmers noticed mutations of color and pattern on somecarp, and they began to breed them. Today, more than 80 varietiesexist, and Niigata is regarded as the source for the best koi.

“The highest grade of show koi is still imported from Japan,”says Doug Dahl, CFO of the Associated Koi Clubs of America(AKCA). “Breeders in Japan say it takes 13 generations to stabilizea bloodline of high quality koi that are reasonably repeatable. U.S.breeders generally do not have that much patience and are moreinterested in selling young koi to return a [quick] profit.”

Given a preference for and the quality of Japanese koi, KodamaKoi Farm can charge a premium over domestically bred koi.Competitors tend to sell koi young and cheap. Three-inch domestickoi, for example, were priced at $11 a piece recently at a Honolulupet store. On the same day, the home page of KodamaKoiFarm.com

showed a 12-inch and a 15-inch nishikigoi valued at $400and $1,500, respectively, with high bids at the time of $95 and $400.

A wrinkle in the profitability of importing nishikigoi, however,came last fall when the USDA’s Animal and Plant Health InspectionService (APHIS) placed new restrictions on the importation of live fish,fertilized eggs, and gametes of fish from certain species susceptible tospring viremia of carp (SVC). The cost of importing koi has increasedwith the addition of new fees charged for the mandatory inspectionsof every shipment both in the country of origin and in the U.S.

Also, the only overseas breeders that may ship koi into theU.S. are those with farms that have been monitored for the last twoyears—an aspect of the new regulations that is likely to limit accessto small, specialty breeders. KOI USA magazine editor SteveChilders predicts “a mass exodus of consumers from larger, qualityfish and a move to smaller, domestic fish for beginners” as fish fromJapan become more expensive.

Kodama acknowledges but shrugs off the difficulties brought bythe new import rules. He says his biggest challenge today is learninghow to best motivate a growing staff, which currently includes 12employees in Mililani. Besides, the economies of scale he’s bringing tothe business could help the farm cope with rising costs.

Regardless of any rules, disease management is taken seriouslyat Kodama Koi Farm, he says. Koi herpes virus (KHV) is not trackedby the USDA, because unlike SVC it is not contagious to other fishspecies. Yet KHV is more deadly and can wipe out a farm’s entirestock of koi in two days.

Every day, Hiroyuki Kawai, farm manager at Kodama Koi Farm,inspects under a microscope samples collected from the farm’s fishto make sure the koi are disease free, says Kawai, who has trainedfor more than five years under Mamoru Kodama in Japan and Hawaii.Pointing to another positive aspect of the move to Hawaii, TaroKodama says assistance from state aquatic veterinarian Dr. AllenRiggs and the Disease Prevention unit of the Hawaii Department ofAgriculture’s Aquaculture Development Program has beeninvaluable.

Kodama remains undeterred and positive, explaining that hewants to make the koi keeping hobby more affordable in the U.S.Kodama Koi Farm targets the high end of the market—where salesof show quality koi bring the highest margins—but also is trying toexpand the whole market for Japanese koi.

In a move to aid potential koi hobbyists with the complexitiesof designing and installing a koi pond, Kodama Koi Farm partneredlast fall with filtration systems manufacturer Russell Watergardensof Redmond, Wash., to make it possible to purchase fish fromKodama Koi Farm through Russell Watergardens Stores, a franchisethat began a nationwide expansion this year.

By most accounts, koi keeping is increasinglypopular in America. “The koi hobby is growingwith more clubs and shows every year,” saysKOI USA editor Childers. There are 104 koi clubsin the U.S. registered with AKCA, and 32 of themhold koi shows.

Kodama believes the U.S. market has a lot ofpromise and selected the market precisely becauseit is immature but budding. “We could have stayedin Japan and grown slowly, but we decided tojump instead,” he says. “Now, it’s my job to takethis company to the next level.”

The idea is to introduce more and more Americans to koikeeping and to turn more and more beginners into keepers of showquality koi. To get there, Kodama’s got to overcome culturaldifferences. Generally, Americans view koi as pets, and Japanesesee koi as living art. “Americans want instant gratification, and it’snot that way with koi,” says Childers. Still, more Americans arebecoming “true hobbyists,” learning to appreciate koi and howtheir unique patterns develop over time, he says.

Discussing the role that koi play in Japanese culture and theposition that Japanese breeders hold in the culture of koi, Kodamais proud but not arrogant. He is a businessman, but he also aspiresto be a kind of ambassador. Taro Kodama is sincere when he revealshis ultimate motivation: He is imparting an important Japanesetradition to America and eventually to the world. He adds soberly,“I cannot fail.” —Kathryn Dennis L

Kodama Koi Farm president Taro Kodama (left) and farm managerHiroyuki Kawai in front of one of 72 growout tanks. Right: This koi isan example of the popular showa sanshoku variety, which has redand wrapping black (or sumi) patterns on a white background.

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Coral continued from Page 3

MERIP ships nearly all of its farmed corals to MIMF butrecently has started shipping limited quantities to the FSM NationalAquaculture Center (NAC) in Kosrae. This facility, which was homebase for the first CTSA-sponsored regional aquaculture extensionagents, is now transforming into a private sector enterprise.

Marshall outer atolls assessed. Also ongoing are efforts toestablish coral farming, using a model similar to the one used atMERIP, on two outer atolls, Ailuk and Arnoare, of the RMI. Partnersin this project are PACRC,MIMF, Natural ResourceAssessment Surveys (NRAS),the College of the MarshallIslands (CMI), and the MarshallIslands Marine ResourceAuthority (MIMRA).

Preliminary assessmentshave been completed on bothatolls. Arno, which is only twohours by boat from the RMIcapital Majuro, has significantpotential due to the presenceof an existing giant clam farmingoutreach program and a holdingfacility on the atoll, as well asits proximity to Majuro.

Funding for both the FSMand RMI efforts come from avariety of sources, includingsubstantial assistance from the USDA’s Initiative for FutureAgriculture & Food Systems (IFAFS) and Outreach and Assistancefor Socially Disadvantaged Farmers and Ranchers (OASDFR)competitive grants programs, the David and Lucile PackardFoundation, and local organizations.

Coral farming has proven to be an excellent grass-roots activityfor rural farmers in the FSM and RMI for the following reasons:

1. The primary form of reproduction in many corals is cloning(asexual budding). A fragment of coral that is removed correctlyfrom the parent colony will heal to form a new colony. Fragmentationis the main culture technique used in soft and hard coral farming.

2. Relatively fast healing times and growth rates in culturedcorals allow a time to harvest of only four to eight months. Speedygrowth can be a great benefit to farmers,allowing for high inventory turnover andearly return on investment.

3. Coral farming does not need to bea full-time occupation, and participantscan continue with other livelihood andcultural activities. Once fragments are cutand successfully planted, they requirevery little tending until harvest.

4. Capital startup costs of coralfarming are generally quite low.

5. Coral farming allows forpropagation of rare species.

6. Corals have a high value per unit weight, which makesshipping cost effective from remote areas where air freight is costlyand cargo space is often limited.

Returns for rural coral farmers in Micronesia are unlikely toexceed $100 per month per farmer, so let’s give some context to thisseemingly small amount. The selected coral farmers usually comefrom the very lowest socioeconomic sectors of the population and

often have almost no other access to jobsor the cash economy.

Recent economic data for the RMI andFSM paint a grim picture with stagnanteconomies and nearly no job growth in theprivate sector. Recent unemploymentfigures are 22% for the FSM and 33.9% forthe RMI (See Table 1 at left for more of themost recent economic data available). In thiscontext, the marine ornamental maricultureindustry is already making a significantimpact on the rural economies of bothnations. —Simon Ellis L

Saleable fragments of the singleSarcophyton species, a soft coral withbright green polyps, now grown at theMERIP farm in Pohnpei.

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Around the PacificA few bills of interest to Hawaii’s aquaculture industry aremaking there way through the 2007 regular session of the stateLegislature. “House Bill 1615 makes a request for a feasibilitystudy to look at what is required to get a certified lab and aprocess for certifying state waters for shellfish [culture],” saysRon Weidenbach, president of the Hawaii AquacultureAssociation. The bill has gone through several committeesbut is still a long way from becoming a law, he says. At presstime, the House Committee on Finance had recommended the

bill for passage on its thirdreading—almost the last stepbefore it goes to the Senate.

A second bill (HB 1616)that requests funds for afeasibility study for theestablishment of a primaryquarantine and laboratoryfacility for aquatic species inHawaii had not gotten as faryet. HB1616 had passed asecond reading and beenreferred to the HouseCommittee on Finance at thetime of this writing in lateFebruary. “SPF shrimp or

ornamental fish come into Hawaii, and there’s not really a safequarantine facility to put them through,” says Weidenbach.“It puts farms at risk and the environment at risk.”

The Northern Marianas College’s Cooperative ResearchExtension and Education Service, meanwhile, has been giventhe mandate to develop an aquaculture development programfor the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands by alaw signed by Govenor Benigno R. Fitial in January. L

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AQUACULTURESUBTROPICAL

INSIDE The Center for Tropical and SubtropicalAquaculture (CTSA) is one of five

regional aquaculture centers in the UnitedStates established by Congress in 1986 tosupport research, development, demonstra-tion, and extension education to enhanceviable and profitable U.S. aquaculture.Funded by an annual grant from the U.S.Department of Agriculture’s CooperativeState Research, Education, and ExtensionService (USDA/CSREES), CTSA integratesindividual and institutional expertise andresources in support of commercial aquac-ulture development.

CTSA currently assists aquaculturedevelopment in the region that includesHawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific Islands(American Samoa, Commonwealth of theNorthern Mariana Islands, Federated Statesof Micronesia, Guam, Republic of Palau, andRepublic of the Marshall Islands).

In its 19 years of operation, CTSA hasdistributed nearly $10 million to fund more

than 195 projects addressing a variety ofnational aquaculture priorities.

Each year, the Center works closely withindustry representatives to identify prioritiesthat reflect the needs of the aquacultureindustry in its region. After consultation withappropriate technical experts, CTSA respondswith a program of directed research that hasthese pre-determined priorities as the focusof project objectives. The board of directorsis responsible for overseeing programmaticfunctions. The center disseminates projectresults through print publications, hands-ontraining workshops, and Web content.

CTSA is jointly administered by theOceanic Institute and the University ofHawaii. The main office is located at theOceanic Institute’s Makapuu Point site onthe island of Oahu in Hawaii.

For more information, contact Cheng-Sheng Lee, Ph.D., executive director, by tele-phone (808) 259-3107, fax (808) 259-8395, ore-mail (cslee@oceanicinstitute.org).

STORY PAGE

Kodama Koi Farm expands 1after move to Hawaii

Letter from the Director 2

AquaClips news briefs 2

Collaborative efforts boost coral 3farming in Pohnpei and the RMI

AquaTips: Parasite screening 4of freshwater ornamental imports

Around the Pacific: 7Aquaculture bills wade throughHawaii Legislature, become lawin the CNMI

This issue and past issues of theRegional Notes newsletter are availableonline as PDF files at the CTSA Web site.