(joint release)

November 12, 2024
National University Corporation Hokkaido University
Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
Hokkaido Air System Co., Ltd.

The national university corporation Hokkaido University (Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido; President: Kiyohiro Hokin; hereinafter “Hokkaido University”) and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Mitsuko Tottori; hereinafter “JAL”) signed a partnership agreement in June 2022 to work on solving various social issues and lead the creation of a sustainable society in Hokkaido. As part of concrete collaborative efforts, 1 aircraft of Hokkaido Air System Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sapporo, Hokkaido; President and CEO: Eiji Takemura; hereinafter “HAC”) will be equipped with an outboard camera, and the world's first (*2) red tide monitoring using a regular flight aircraft will begin in the summer of 2025.
By detecting the occurrence of red tides at an early stage based on captured image data and promptly providing information to fisheries-related people, damage to the fishery industry due to red tides is prevented, and in the future, we are considering widely using them not only for red tides, but also for environmental monitoring of forests and oceans.

(*1) Press release “Hokkaido University and JAL sign a partnership agreement” dated 2022/6/7 ()
(*2) As of 2024/11/12, Hokkaido University, JAL, and HAC research.

(At the beginning of the observation, monitoring will be carried out for Hakodate Bay)

[Background]

　Red tide is a phenomenon where phytoplankton in the sea proliferates abnormally and seawater turns reddish brown, and seafood suffocates to death, causing major damage to the fishery industry. The occurrence of red tides has increased due to global warming, and in particular, damage of 9.7 billion yen or more occurred in 2021 in Hokkaido. Therefore, there is a need to monitor red tides, detect them at an early stage, and prevent damage before they occur.
In order to detect red tides at an early stage and prevent damage, extensive and high-frequency observations are necessary, but since regular flights frequently operate the same flight routes, they are expected to be useful for red tide monitoring.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　(Reference image of red tide)　　

[Overview of red tide monitoring]
A multispectral camera (*3) for observation is mounted on the lower rear fuselage panel of the ATR42-600 (aircraft number: JA13HC) owned by HAC, and monitoring is carried out from regular flights.
The target routes for monitoring are Sapporo (Okadama) = Hakodate, Hakodate = Okushiri, and Sapporo (Okadama) = Rishiri, and the target sea areas are planned to be Hakodate Bay, Funka Bay, Okushiri Strait, and Rishiri Channel. (At the beginning of the observation, monitoring will be carried out for Hakodate Bay)

(*3) A camera that simultaneously captures light of different wavelengths and can take images in multiple wavelength bands.

The images taken with the camera were transferred to Hokkaido University and developed by Professor Ryohide Kasai of the Graduate School of Fisheries Sciences
The red tide detection method (*4) is used to visualize its distribution. While repeatedly demonstrating monitoring, we will improve the detection accuracy of red tide and examine ways to communicate information to people involved in fisheries.

(*4) A method for detecting red tides using differences in fluorescence characteristics emitted by phytoplankton from sea surface images taken at multiple wavelengths.

Hokkaido University and JAL will continue to work on solving various social issues on the Hokkaido stage and lead the creation of a sustainable society.

over