Japanese institute looks to implement Mote policies

The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature in Kyoto, Japan is conducting a five-year study on Mote’s positive relations with the Sarasota community.

By Kristen Herhold
| 6:00 a.m. July 1, 2015

Tetsu Sato, of RIHN, checks a scallop-monitoring device for juvenile scallops on March 25, 2015 at a restoration site off Ken Thompson Park in Sarasota Bay. (Courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory)

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The project’s core members are:

Tetsu Sato, RIHN project leader
Michael Crosby, Mote Marine Laboratory
Juan Carlos Castilla, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Chile
Shinichiro Kakuma, Okinawa Prefecture Fisheries Development and Extension Center
Masahito Kamimura, WWF Japan Coral Reef Conservation and Research Centre
Kenji Kitamura, RIHN
Takashi Kume, Ehime University, Japan
Mitsutaku Makino, Fisheries Research Agency, Japan
Hiroyuki Matsuda, Yokohama National University, Japan
Hiroshi Miki, RIHN
Taisuke Miyauchi, Hokkaido University, Japan
Chigusa Nakagawa, RIHN
Hiroaki Niitsuma, Tohoku University, Japan
Reiko Omoto, RIHN
Akiko Sakai, Yokohama National University, Japan
Mayuko Shimizu, Ryukoku University, Japan
Yutaka Suga, University of Tokyo, Japan
Shion Takemura, RIHN
Kei Tokita, Nagoya University, Japan
Sho Tomita, Tohoku University, Japan
Gen Yamakoshi, Kyoto University, Japan
Tetsuo Yanagi, Kyushu University, Japan
Shigeru Yanaka, Tottori University, Japan
Takakazu Yumoto, Kyoto University, Japan

Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium isn’t just a local point of pride; it’s an institution that has become a model for the rest of the world. The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) in Kyoto, Japan, is currently conducting a five-year study of Mote as a model for a residential research institution.

“A residential research institution is an institution that is embedded into part of the community,” Mote President and CEO Michael Crosby said. “The researchers at RIHN are intrigued by Mote and how it’s really been able to thrive in its 60-year history in great part with the relationship with the community in southwest Florida.”

RIHN is studying institutes around the world, including Turkey, Japan and Malawi.

“They’re looking at some different models for how communities engage very directly with research institutes,” Crosby said. “They’re looking at if a Mote model is one that can be used potentially for implementation around the world in other areas.”

The Japanese researchers visit once every three months, and Mote scientists visit Japan once a year. There will be a workshop at Mote this fall during which the Japanese colleagues will look in-depth at the relationship between Mote and the Sarasota community.

“We try to engage the community is every aspect of what we do,” Crosby said. “More than 1,000 volunteers are an integral part of our every facet, whether it’s engaging local fisherman, nonprofit groups or the community.”

Researchers are specifically focusing on Mote’s work to restore local scallop populations and how the lab engages with the local community. There are one to two years left of the study.

“Some scientists try to be a little confident that their scientific approach is the best and perhaps don’t have the appreciation for the value of knowledge people have working on the water or those who have been living here for generations,” Crosby said. “It’s important to value the sharing of knowledge and working together.”

RIHN became interested in Crosby’s work through a research paper he wrote in the early 1990s when he was on the advisory board for the Institute of Subtropical Research. The paper was translated into Japanese, and RIHN invited Crosby to Japan five years ago.

“People all over the world are looking at Mote and Sarasota as a model for the rest of the world to emulate,” Crosby said. “It’s a wonderful thing going on right here in Sarasota and another example of what makes this place such a special place, working together for the benefit of our community and the environment we treasure.”