ECOP-led side events at PICES 2025: Yokohama Marine Park Visit and Tour to JAMSTEC
Authors: Hana Matsubara, Kotaro Tanaka, Raphael Roman, Takahito Ikenoue, Satomi Takagi, Toya Hirokawa, Yuan Lin, Shojiro Amano
Alongside PICES 2025, the Advisory Panel on Early Career Ocean Professionals (AP-ECOP) and ECOP Japan jointly organized two side events, including: (1) Yokohama Marine Park Visit and Seagrass Sowing, and (2) Tour to Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC).
Yokohama Marine Park Visit
“I believe a park is like a mirror of local communities—by maintaining a clean and comfortable Marine Park, we can help to improve the community’s awareness and healthiness, and vice versa.” – Mr. Fumikazu Matsuoka, Director of Yokohama Marine Park
ECOP participants to the Yokohama Marine Park Visit
On November 8, 2025, the PICES AP-ECOP team and ECOP Japan jointly organized a side event titled “ECOP’s Tour of Yokohama Marine Park and Seagrass Sowing”. The event aimed to foster interaction and networking among ECOPs through hands-on activities and the sharing of best practices in enhancing ocean literacy. It highlighted Yokohama Marine Park’s Sustainable Development Goals activities with the local community and private-sector Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives in Japan. In the morning, participants took part in a seagrass sowing activity organized by Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., INPEX Corporation, and various non-profit organizations (NPOs), along with several schoolchildren. After a lunch break, attendees attended a lecture from the Marine Park Director about its history and activities, followed by an educational walk through the park and a Q&A session.
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Activities at the Yokohama Marine Park side event
Positive feedback from participants indicated that they were inspired by the community-based ocean literacy activities and saw this as a meaningful networking opportunity with other ECOPs at the start of the PICES conference.
Tour to JAMSTEC
JAMSTEC side event participants
A tour of JAMSTEC was organized to provide ECOP participants at PICES with an opportunity to learn about Japan’s leading marine science institutions and to foster networking for future research collaboration.
On November 14, 38 ECOPs, including master’s and doctoral students as well as research fellows, participated in the tour. The program began with a guided visit to JAMSTEC, followed by inspirational presentations from a JAMSTEC researcher, four researchers from the Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency (FRA), and a researcher from the Ocean Policy Research Institute of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation (OPRI-SPF). Each speaker introduced their institution’s research activities and shared insights into their respective career paths. The event concluded with a networking session, where participants engaged in active discussions and built new connections.
Among the 25 respondents who completed the feedback survey, overall satisfaction with the event (on a 5-point scale) was rated at 4.64. Many participants particularly enjoyed the presentations by Japanese ECOPs (approximately 40%) and the networking sessions (approximaely 40%). Respondents also expressed interest in similar events in the future, while some requested longer networking opportunities and the option to visit laboratories. Based on this feedback, AP-ECOP is considering organizing similar events on a recurring basis, incorporating even more opportunities for interaction.
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ECOP side event to JAMSTEC
Acknowledgement
These side events were supported by the Nippon Foundation and the Japan Society of Ocean Policy (JSOP) as part of their assistance for activities related to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) from the perspective of ocean policy. We would also like to thank Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd., INPEX Corporation, the Japan Philanthropic Association, the Waterfront Vitalization and Environment Research Foundation, and the Association for Shore Environment Creation for supporting the Yokohama Marine Park event.
This article was originally published in the 2026 Winter issue of the North Pacific Marine Science Organization’s PICES Press and is reproduced here with permission.