T-Card Everyone's Social Project "Goto Fish Project" Selected as a Finalist in the Japan Sustainable Seafood Awards

2019.11.08 Press Releases
T Point Japan Co., Ltd.

Selected for the Collaboration Award, the first of its kind in Japan, which recognizes individuals, organizations, and activities that have contributed to sustainable fishing, for their significant impact on the industry through collaboration with multiple organizations.

We are pleased to announce that the Goto Fish Project, a product development project by T Point Japan Co., Ltd. (Head office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President and COO: Kitamura Kazuhiko) that combines T Card data, the T Member network, and fish from the Goto Islands, has been selected as a finalist in the Collaboration Award of the first Japan Sustainable Seafood Awards.

The Japan Sustainable Seafood Awards has been gaining global attention in recent years, and is the first of its kind in Japan to recognize industry leaders who have contributed to revitalizing the sustainable seafood movement being undertaken by various companies and organizations in Japan. The awards are attracting attention from around the world, as they are sponsored by SeaWeb, which runs the global sustainable seafood awards.

The Goto Fish Project is a collaborative project to address the issue of unused fish* in the Goto Islands, bringing together stakeholders from different fields and positions, including Goto City in Nagasaki Prefecture, Hamaguchi Suisan as a local business, distributors, T-members as consumer representatives, Chef Morieda, and T-Point Japan. The judges highly praised the project as an initiative that will lead to the revitalization of sustainable seafood.

*Unused fish: Fish that are caught and edible but are discarded because they are not recognized as having value and are deemed difficult to utilize.

What makes this project unique is that it not only promotes awareness and understanding of unused fish, but also creates a system that allows consumers to take action by purchasing products related to unused fish. New products developed through this project are scheduled to be announced soon.

The Goto Fish Project will continue to create added value for Goto's local fish, develop and provide products that satisfy the local community, consumers, and distributors, thereby establishing a continuous "sixth-generation industrialization" and contributing to the further spread of sustainable fishing.

T Point Japan believes that utilizing unused fish can also make a significant contribution to protecting the abundance of the oceans, which is the 14th goal of the SDGs. We will continue to work on projects that will help preserve a bountiful ocean for future generations.

The initiative was highly praised for its skillful integration of a wide range of stakeholders and effective use of the purchasing power of its members, as well as for its promotion of sustainable fishing while also contributing to regional revitalization activities by promoting the sixth-sector industry.

The "T Card Everyone's Social Project" was launched in June 2018 as a social value creation project that utilizes over 69 million T members, approximately 190 T Point Alliance companies, and approximately 5 billion pieces of purchasing data provided by the T Card to solve social issues facing local communities and implement initiatives that lead to regional coexistence. Based on T-Card lifestyle data, we derive ideas from among T-members*. We utilize the network of T-members who "love seafood and are particular about food" to invite T-members with similar food preferences to participate, provide them with an opportunity to come into contact with T-Card data during the product development process, and incorporate elements derived from the data into our planning.
The Goto Islands, where this project is set, are home to a wide variety of fish, thanks to the warm Tsushima Current, which branches off from the Kuroshio Current, one of the world's largest ocean currents, in southwest Kyushu and flows into Tsushima. The Goto Islands are blessed with an abundance of fish, but there are also many species of fish that are difficult to distribute to urban areas due to transportation challenges such as maintaining freshness and costs. By creating added value for Goto fish and offering it as a product that will please our T members, we are working to establish a sustainable "sixth-generation industrialization."
The Goto Fish Project involves 12 T members, Hamaguchi Suisan Co., Ltd., a seafood processing company in Goto as a producer representative, a distribution company that operates a supermarket chain as a distributor representative, chef Morieda Mikio, who considers and promotes food sustainability, Goto City, and Tsutsuuraura Co., Ltd., an affiliate of the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Innovation Corporation of Japan, which supports the sixth-generation transformation of primary industries.By combining the knowledge of each stakeholder, the project is scheduled to be released this fall.

*Data is derived in a way that does not identify individual customers, such as names or addresses.

●About the Japan Sustainable Seafood Awards
With 2020 fast approaching, awareness of sustainable seafood and efforts to spread it are spreading rapidly across Japan. In order to further stimulate the movement, we will promote sustainable seafood.
This award honors people, organizations, and projects that have made Japan's fishing industry sustainable.

1. The judges are eight frontrunners who are essential to the discussion of sustainable seafood in Japan
The content and impact of submitted initiatives will be judged by experts from various fields. Judges (in no particular order, titles omitted): Mariko Kawaguchi (Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd.), Tetsuji Ida (Kyodo News), Kaori Fujita (Nikkei ESG), Takuya Hasegawa (Fisherman Japan, Yahoo Japan Corporation), Manami Yamaguchi (FEM, Japan Sustainable Label Association), Hiroshi Izumisawa (Ajiro Fisheries Co., Ltd.), Hiroko Sasaki (food journalist, Chefs for the Blue), Kazuo Hanaoka (Seafood Legacy Co., Ltd.)

2. The award ceremony will be held at the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium (TSSS), Japan's largest sustainable seafood event.
TSSS is the largest symposium in Japan, bringing together key figures who have promoted sustainable seafood. It has become a central event in the sustainable seafood movement, bringing together speakers and participants from both Japan and overseas.

3. Sponsored by SeaWeb, the global sustainable seafood awards organization
SeaWeb is the organization that runs the Seafood Champion Awards, which honors those who have contributed to the spread of sustainable seafood around the world that year. This award has been held for over 10 years and is an honorable award for those involved in promoting sustainable seafood.

Materials related to this matter

T-Card Everyone's Social Project "Goto Fish Project" Selected as a Finalist in the Japan Sustainable Seafood Awards

Inquiries regarding this matter
T Point Japan Co., Ltd.
Public Relations: Ando
TEL: 03-6800-4464