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[Plastic Fishing ②] The slogan is "Regain the Miyagawa River's status as Japan's clearest stream": Plastic Fishing in Misedani Dam planned and operated by high school students <2023 Test Tournament>

2024年1月11日 18:47

Synopsis of the previous episode and the next action

In June 2023, a research presentation by third-year students at Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Commercial High School was held, in which IX Holdings participated as an observer, and a proposal for "Plastic Fishing" was presented. In response to the desire for the Ise-Shima sea to remain rich and beautiful, it was thought that a typical call for trash pickup activities would be unlikely to interest the younger generation, so discussions began on implementing Plastic Fishing as a new way to create an opportunity for engagement.

The "Miyagawa River," a first-class river that flows into Ise Bay, is a treasure of Mie that boasts being the clearest stream in Japan, having been selected multiple times by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism as having the "best water quality." However, upon learning that it had not been selected for the past two years, we visited the Misedani Dam lake in Odai Town, located in the upper reaches of the "Miyagawa River," with high school students in July 2023.

When we actually rode SUPs and canoes to collect trash such as plastic products, old spray cans, and sandals, we found that trash tends to accumulate in the coves near the dam. Believing that efforts here would help protect the Ise Bay sea, the high school students planned a "Plastic Fishing Tournament" to raise awareness among more people and take the first step toward a solution. With the cooperation of local businesses and others who sympathized with the initiative, this event was realized.

This time, we conducted a <Test Tournament> with the cooperation of the students from Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Commercial High School who proposed the idea, and students from Mie Prefectural Subaru Gakuen High School, the only high school in Odai Town where the Misedani Dam venue is located. High school students from Odai Town in the upper Miyagawa basin, the tourism association, local businesses, high school students from Ise in the lower basin, and companies such as IX Holdings deepened their understanding of environmental conservation for the entire basin, established safe and fun rules for Plastic Fishing during this test tournament, and will connect this to the implementation of future main tournaments.

In addition, regarding the utilization of the collected plastic waste, we plan to take on the challenge of product development to lead to awareness-raising with the cooperation of REMARE Inc., which conducts upcycling projects for marine plastic.

Plastic Fishing in Misedani Dam <2023 Test Tournament> Event Overview

■ Name: Plastic Fishing in Misedani Dam <2023 Test Tournament>
■ Date and Time: Sunday, December 17, 2023, 10:00–15:00
■ Venue: Odai Town B&G Marine Center
(363 Yakii, Odai-cho, Taki-gun, Mie Prefecture 519-2405)
■ Schedule (Planned):
　10:00 Opening ceremony, lecture
　10:45 First round (until 11:30)
　11:45 Lunch, lecture
　13:00 Second round (until 13:45)
　14:00 Sorting/washing, weighing/judging
　15:00 Closing ceremony
■ Participants: Students from Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Commercial High School and Mie Prefectural Subaru Gakuen High School
■ Number of participants: 12 from each school (5 SUP, 5 canoe, 2 support tandem)
■ Participation fee: Free
■ Organizer: IX Holdings Co., Ltd.
■ Co-organizer: Verde Odai Tourism Co., Ltd.
■ Planning and Operation: Mie Prefectural Ujiyamada Commercial High School (Manatsu Okamoto, Jiei Kashiwagi, Momoko Koike, Riku Matsumoto, Kazu Hashikura, Seishiro Hiraishi)
■ Cooperation: Odai Town B&G Marine Center, Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc. Mie Hydroelectric Center, Mie Prefectural Subaru Gakuen High School, REMARE Inc.
■ Sponsorship: Odai Town Tourism Association, Okuise Forestpia, NPO Clear Stream River, Mori to Mizu wo Mamoru Kai Ltd.
*Due to strong winds, the content was changed as follows.

The day of the event (2023/12/17)

For this test tournament, we received the cooperation of 18 students from Ujiyamada Commercial (including 4 organizers) and 8 students from Mie Prefectural Subaru Gakuen High School (hereinafter referred to as Subaru Gakuen), the only high school in Odai Town where the venue is located.
Because the wind was stronger than expected on the day, we changed the program to a "school-to-school competition with only one round" and "divided into SUP groups and motorboat groups" out of consideration for safety.
■ Implementation schedule:
　10:00 Opening ceremony, lecture
　10:30 Plastic Fishing
　11:15 Washing, weighing, judging, sorting
　12:00 Closing ceremony

<Competition Start>
・SUP Group
The SUP challenge was held with four teams of three people each. We asked Ayako Noda of Verde Odai Tourism, who provided guidance, for her mindset: "The situation is not good today because of the strong wind, and there is some swaying, but please stay calm. If you feel scared, please don't push yourself." After that, she gave us a lecture on how to actually ride and paddle. Although they were confused by riding an SUP for the first time, when they actually got on and started paddling, all teams were able to start without any problems.

When we actually did the plastic fishing, although the lake surface looked clean at first glance with no trash floating, trash containing a lot of plastic was seen scattered along the water's edge on the opposite shore. If they reached out too far, the balance of the SUP would be lost, so each team proceeded with caution.
It was only about 30 minutes, but we were able to collect as much trash as possible, to the point where I thought we had collected all the visible trash.

・Motorboat Group
We boarded a motorboat piloted by Takahiro Okamura of the Odai Town B&G Marine Center and conducted plastic fishing a little upstream from the starting point. In the hollowed-out areas, there was a lot of trash, mainly plastic bottles. Natural debris like broken bamboo blocked the boat's path, but to collect as much trash as possible, we reached out or used paddles to pull it in, and in the end, we were able to collect an amount that couldn't even fit in the boat.

<Washing, Weighing, Sorting>
It doesn't end when you collect the trash. Trash that has been left in the water for a long time is filled with mud or has foreign objects attached to it, so we wash it carefully one by one. After that, we weighed the trash of each team and sorted it. The disposal of trash that could not be reused was handled by the Odai Town Office.

<Results Announcement>
Subaru Gakuen had about 8kg, and Ujiyamada Commercial had about 26kg, so Ujiyamada Commercial won this test tournament.

The winning Ujiyamada Commercial team was presented with an assortment of "Onigiri Senbei" from Masuya Co., Ltd., a group company of IX Holdings. Also, as the Unique Trash Award, a "beach ball" picked up by a Subaru Gakuen student and a "refrigerator" picked up by a Ujiyamada Commercial student were selected!

Finally, Ayako Noda of Verde Odai Tourism concluded by saying, "Trash that has fallen into nature is very difficult to remove. I would be happy if you could remember even just that one thing. Thank you for today."

This plastic fishing test tournament was conducted by high school students from Odai Town in the upper Miyagawa basin, the tourism association, local businesses, high school students from Ise in the lower basin, and companies such as IX Holdings, while deepening their understanding of environmental conservation for the entire basin. Although there are still challenges to holding an actual tournament, it was a day that definitely took a big step forward.

We will continue to prepare for next year's tournament and awareness-raising for the general public, and we will also continue to consider ways to utilize recyclable plastic.