John R. Bower
Between 1949 and 2002, the Hokusei Maru I, II, and III of the Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University (Japan),
conducted more than 150 research cruises throughout the Pacific. This paper chronicles the ships' histories and
major achievements.
Hokusei Maru I
To boost fishery education in Japan following World War II, when much of the country suffered chronic food
shortages, the Ministry of Education was granted 6,000,000 yen ($222,000*) to purchase and refurbish two ships
for its fishery schools at Hokkaido University and Kagoshima University. The main role of the ships would be
to train students.
Hokusei Maru II
Construction of the Hokusei Maru II was completed in February 1957 in Shimizu City at a cost of 84,500,000 yen
($1,436,000*). The 37-meter, 222-gross-ton ship was equipped with a 450-horsepower engine and a controllable
pitch propeller, and had a complement of 43, including 21 crew, 20 students and 2 researchers (Figure 2). It was
equipped to use a drift gillnet, longline, and stick-held dip-net. In October 1965, the ship's hull was
lengthened to 43 meters, the main engine's horsepower was increased to 600, and an anti-rolling tank was
installed; these renovations increased the ship's gross tonnage to 273 (Figure 3).
Hokusei Maru III
Construction of the Hokusei Maru III was completed in October 1976 in Niigata City at a cost of 1,547,000,000 yen
($16,127,000*). The 62-meter, 893-gross-ton stern trawler was equipped with a 2100-horsepower engine, a bow
thruster, and an anti-rolling tank (Figure 4). It had a complement of 71 (40 students, 27 crew, and 4
researchers) and was equipped to use a stern trawl, drift gillnet, tuna longline, and purse seine. The ship
continued its predecessor's schedule of a winter cruise to the South Pacific, a spring cruise off southern
Hokkaido and a summer cruise off northern Hokkaido. In 1987, it began annual fall trawl surveys off the Pacific
coast of Hokkaido.
Acknowledgements
I thank Yoshiyuki Kajiwara, Yoshihiko Kamei, Toshimi Meguro, Yasunori Sakurai, Kenji Shimazaki, Hidekazu
Yamaguchi, Jun Yamamoto, and Richard Young for reading the manuscript. Meguro-sencho provided the photos. Much
of the information in this paper came from Anonymous (1982) and Mishima (1988). This article was first published
in PICES Press (2002) Vol. 10, No. 2, pp. 25-28.
Literature Cited
Anonymous. 1982. "Renshuusen". Pages 67-73 in M. Takagi, ed. "Hokudai-suisan-gakubu nanajuu-go-nen-shi". Hakodate,
Japan: Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University [in Japanese]
List of Table and Figure headings
Table 1. Foreign ports visited by the Hokusei Maru I and II, and years of visits
Table 1. Foreign ports visited by the Hokusei Maru II and III, and years of visits
Table 2. Names and affiliations of foreign participants in the Hokusei Maru III cruises to the Northwest
Pacific during 1978-1992
David Ambrose (MMD),Stanislaw Cichosz (ODSF),Tony DeGange (USFWS),Edward Jameyson (NMML),Gerald Joyce (UW),
Stanislaw Kakolewski (ODSF),Thomas McIntyre (MMD),James Murphy (UAF),Mary Nerini (MMD),Terrel Newby (MMD),
Michael Newcomer (MLML),Zbigniew Stawny (ODSF),Lawrence Tsunoda (MMD),Jack Turnock (NMML)
Table 3. Names and affiliations of foreign participants in the Hokusei Maru III cruises to the Hawaiian
Islands during 1981-2001
Koji Abe (UHH) , Hitoshi Ariga (UHH) , Toshiki Ariga (UHH) , John Arnold (UHM) , Kent Backman (UHH) ,
Mace Bacom (UHM) , Ian Bartol (CWM) , Keith Bigelow (UHM) , William Bishoff (UHM) , John Bower (UHM) ,
David Carlini (CWM) , Michael Chalup (UHM) , John Constantinou (UHM) , Joan Culp (UHM) ,
Frances Cummings (CSUF) , Paul Dulfer (UHH) , Aisa Esquivel (UHM) , Robert Ferguson (UHM) ,
James Finn (UHM) , Brad Gould (UHM) , Richard Grigg (UHM) , Leon Hallacher (UHH) , Annie Hareau (UHM) ,
Robert Harman (UHM, DAR) , Skippy Hau (DAR) , Janice Hirota , J. Chris Hirota (SLP) , Jed Hirota (UHM)
, Raymond Hixon (UT) , Jackie Hollbrook (UHH) , Charles Holloway (UHM) , Ben Hong (UHH) ,
Juliana Horn (UHM) , Marc Hughes (UHH) , Walter Ikehara (DAR) , David Jones (UHM) , Jeff Jones (UHM)
, Richard Jurick (UHM) , Tomoko Kato (UHH) , Steve Kemper , John Kephart (UHH) , Bert Kikkawa (NMFS-HL)
, Karen Klein (OI, UHM) , Don Kobayashi (UHM) , Brent Larsen (UHH) , Erin Leistman (UHH) ,
Normand Lezy (UHM) , Sean Lockerman (UHH) , Katharina Mangold (LA) , Kevin Mahoney (UHH) ,
Walter Matsumoto (NMFS-HL) , Asuka Matsuura (UHH) , Hillary Maybaum (UHM) , Dan McGuire (UHH) ,
Peter Morton (UHM) , John Naughton (NMFS-HL) , Michelle Nawrocki (UHM) , Robert Nishimoto (DAR) ,
Eugene Nitta (NMFS-HL) , Shawn Norris (UHH) , Ron O'Dor (DU) , Yuko Okano (UHH) , Shannon Oshiro (UHH)
, Jessica Owens (UHH) , Edward Parnell (UHM) , Matt Parry (UHM) , Stewart Reid (UHM) ,
Clyde Roper (NMNH) , Niklas Schneider (UHM) , Wolfgang Schneider (UHM) , Roger Seapy (CSUF) ,
Michael Seki (NMFS-HL) , Keiko Sekiguchi (UHH) , Elizabeth Shea (BMC) , John Shears (UHM) ,
Lee Shindel (UHH) , Rachael Spears (UHH) , Yvonne Stoermer (UHM) , Edward Stroup (UHM) ,
Satoru Taguchi (UHM) , Ralph Takefuji , Gordon Taylor (UHM) , Joseph Tegeder (UHH) , Bronte Tilbrook (UHM)
, Timm Timoney , Richard Titgen , Gordon Tribble (UHM) , Paul Troy (UHM) , Michael Vecchione (NMNH)
, Philomene Verlaan (UHM) , Lisa Wedding (UHH) , Tammy Wenhem (UHH) , John Wormuth (TAMU) ,
Don Worsencroft , Jeannette Yen (UHM) , Alan Young , Phyllis Young , Richard Young (UHM)
Northern Biosphere Field Science Center
Hakodate Branch
Hokkaido University
3-1-1 Minato-cho
Hakodate, Hokkaido, 041-8611
Japan
phone/fax: +81 (138) 40 8017
e-mail: akaika@fish.hokudai.ac.jp
In 1948, the Ministry acquired two 27-meter, 70-gross-ton submarine chasers formerly of the Japanese Navy.
Despite being only about 6 years old, both were dilapidated, and their wooden hulls leaked seawater, so in June
1948, they were towed to Shimonoseki port for renovation. During the 7 months while awaiting this work to begin,
they continued to leak seawater and required bailing out 3-4 times a day to prevent sinking.
To distinguish the ships during this period, both were given nicknames: the Nansei Maru (Southern Star) for
the Kagoshima University-bound ship, and the Hokusei Maru (Northern Star) for the Hokkaido University-bound ship.
Later, official names were proposed: the Niishio Maru (New Tide) for the Kagoshima University ship, and the
Kouchou Maru (Lucky Tide) for the Hokkaido University ship. The name Niishio Maru was formally adopted, but the
Hokusei Maru kept its original name, since it was considered more suitable for a ship that would be based in
northern Japan.
Renovation was completed in April 1949 at a total cost of 15,000,000 yen ($330,000*) for both ships. Work on the
Hokusei Maru I included repairs of the hull, bridge, and stern, and replacement of the engine and radio
equipment. The now 104-gross-ton ship was equipped with a 210-horsepower engine and had a complement of 32,
including 16 crew and 16 students (Figure 1). It was equipped to use a bottom trawl, a drift gillnet, and a
stick-held dip net for Pacific saury (Cololabis saira).
The Hokusei Maru I began training cruises in May 1949 and was used mainly around Hokkaido. The ship conducted
drift-gillnet surveys of salmon off eastern Hokkaido during spring and explored undeveloped fishing grounds near
Musashi Bank in the northern Sea of Japan during summer. During the summer cruises, favorable fishing areas were
located for arabesque greenling (Pleurogrammus azonus), which soon developed into an important fishery resource
off northwest Hokkaido. The ship also conducted handline jigging surveys for Japanese common squid
(Todarodes pacificus pacificus) near Funka Bay (southwest Hokkaido) during fall.
During only seven years of use, the Hokusei Maru I rapidly deteriorated and became unsafe to use. It was
decommissioned in December 1956 after the National Budget appropriated funds for the construction of a
replacement ship. It was then sold to private buyers and served for two years as a general merchandise transport
ship in southern Hokkaido.
The ship's inaugural research cruise was in June 1957 to the northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk to examine the
offshore distribution of post-spawning herring. The results of this investigation were later used to help
develop the Hokkaido herring fishery. Data from this and all subsequent cruises of the Hokusei Maru II and III
were published annually by the university (Hokkaido University, 1958-2002).
During 1957-76, the Hokusei Maru II conducted an annual winter cruise to the South Pacific and an annual summer
cruise to the Sea of Okhotsk and south of the Kuril Islands. In the South Pacific, students were taught how to
use tuna longline gear, including a newly developed vertical longline. These cruises examined the distribution
and ecology of tunas, particularly the vertical distribution of albacore (Thunnus alalunga). During the 1961-62
South Pacific cruise, it made its first foreign port call to Singapore; over the next 40 years, the Hokusei
Maru II and III would make 84 port calls to 18 ports throughout the Pacific (Table 1). In the summer cruises,
students were taught how to use salmon drift gillnets. In 1968, it began annual spring trawl surveys around
southern Hokkaido.
The Hokusei Maru II completed its 47th and final cruise in August 1976. During 19 years of service, it traveled
334,076 miles and carried 1503 students. A total of 143 Japanese researchers from both within and outside
Hokkaido University also participated in these cruises.
The summer cruises to the Sea of Okhotsk and northern part of the Sea of Japan focused on ecological studies of
juvenile chum salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), particularly as they migrated offshore. Students were taught how to
use a purse seine, drift gillnet, and surface trawl. As part of a government plan to develop new fishing grounds,
the ship also conducted extensive surveys around the Emperor Seamounts during the 1977-80 summer cruises.
Samples were collected near the seamounts using a deep trawl and a vertical longline, and the seafloor
topography of the region was mapped. The 1978 cruise marked the first time a foreign scientist participated in a
Hokusei Maru cruise; during 1978-92, 14 guest scientists from the United States and Poland would participate in
Hokusei Maru cruises to the Northwest Pacific (Table 2). In 1982, the ship discontinued sampling in the Sea of
Okhotsk and began sampling along 155o, 170o, and 175o 30'E in the Northwest Pacific. These transects were sampled
annually through 1999, providing a valuable time series for examining long-term changes in this region's
ecosystem (e.g., Pearcy et al. 1996, Yatsu et al. 2000).
Hawaii
The Hokusei Maru III also continued the annual winter cruises to the South Pacific, but when the numerous island
nations in the region began establishing 200-mile exclusive economic zones in the 1970s, the ship headed to the
high seas of the central North Pacific. In 1977, it ventured as far east as the Hawaiian Islands, making its
first port call to Honolulu, and in 1979, began conducting tuna longline surveys near the Islands. In 1981, it
conducted a cooperative research cruise with U.S. scientists from the University of Hawaii and the National
Marine Fisheries Service, Honolulu Laboratory. Between 1981 and 2001, 19 cooperative cruises between scientists
from the University of Hawaii and Hokkaido University were conducted near the Islands. Research focused largely
on cephalopods (e.g., Harman et al. 1989, Sakurai et al. 1995, Young 1995, Bower et al. 1999) and the Hawaiian
mesopelagic-boundary community (e.g., Reid et al. 1991). A total of 98 scientists from 14 universities and
research institutions in the United States, Canada and France participated in these cruises (Table 3). Captains
during the Hawaii cruises included Shoichi Yamamoto (1977-87), Genji Kobayashi (1990-91), Gen Anma (1992-93) and
Toshimi Meguro (1994-2001).
End of the cadet training program
In 1953, the Faculty of Fisheries at Hokkaido University began offering a one-year postgraduate course in ship
and fishery operations. Cadets in this course received classroom instruction in navigation, ship maneuvering,
and maritime law, followed by at-sea training aboard the Hokusei Maru. During 1977-2001, 238 cadets participated
in the winter cruises to the Hawaiian Islands. Similar courses were also offered at three other universities in
Japan (Tokyo University of Fisheries, Kagoshima University, and Nagasaki University), but due to declining
enrollment, in 2002, these four curricula merged into one taught in Tokyo. Research was an important part of the
Hokusei Maru cruises, but since 1949, the Hokusei Maru's main role was to train fishery students. With
the closing of the postgraduate course, the ship was decommissioned in March 2002 and will not replaced. In 95
cruises over 25 years, the Hokusei Maru III sailed 527,456 miles and carried 3073 students, leaving behind a
wealth of research achievements matched by few ships in the Pacific.
* - adjusted to the value of the U.S. dollar in the year 2000
Bower, J.R., M.P. Seki, R.E. Young. K.A. Bigelow, J. Hirota, and P. Flament. 1999. Cephalopod paralarvae
assemblages in Hawaiian Islands waters. Marine Ecology Progress Series 185:203-212
Harman, R.F., R.E. Young, S.B. Reid, K.M. Mangold, T. Suzuki, and R.F. Hixon. 1989. Evidence for multiple
spawning in the tropical oceanic squid Stenoteuthis oualaniensis (Teuthoidea: Ommastrephidae). Marine Biology
101:513-519
Hokkaido University. 1958-2002. Data record of oceanographic observations and exploratory fishing. Hakodate,
Japan: Faculty of Fisheries, Hokkaido University. Nos. 2-45.
Mishima, S. 1988. "Hokusei Maru no oitachi to sono sokuseki". Oyashio 236:4-6 [in Japanese]
Pearcy, W.G., J.P. Fisher, G. Anma, and T. Meguro. 1996. Species associations of epipelagic nekton of the North
Pacific Ocean, 1978-1993. Fisheries Oceanography 5(1):1-20
Reid, S.B., J. Hirota, R.E. Young, and L.E. Hallacher. 1991. Mesopelagic-boundary community in Hawaii:
micronekton at the interface between neritic and oceanic systems. Marine Biology 109:427-440
Sakurai, Y., R.E. Young, J. Hirota, K. Mangold, M. Vecchione, M.R. Clarke, and J. Bower. 1995. Artificial
fertilization and development through hatching in the oceanic squids Ommastrephes bartramii and Sthenoteuthis
oualaniensis (Cephalopoda: Ommastrephidae). The Veliger 38(3):185-191
Yatsu, A., T. Watanabe, J. Mori, K. Nagasawa, Y. Ishida, T. Meguro, Y. Kamei, and Y. Sakurai. 2000. Interannual
variability in stock abundance of the neon flying squid, Ommastrephes bartramii, in the North Pacific Ocean
during 1979-1998: impact of driftnet fishing and oceanographic conditions. Fisheries Oceanography 9(2):
163-170
Young, R.E. 1995. Aspects of the natural history of pelagic cephalopods of the Hawaiian mesopelagic-boundary
community. Pacific Science 49(2):143-155
Table 2. Names and affiliations of foreign participants in the Hokusei Maru III cruises to the Northwest Pacific
Table 3. Names and affiliations of foreign participants in the Hokusei Maru III cruises to the Hawaiian Islands
Figure 1. The Hokusei Maru I
Figure 2. The Hokusei Maru II before renovation
Figure 3. The Hokusei Maru II after renovation
Figure 4. The Hokusei Maru III
-2:two visitsPort Year of visit Honolulu '77, '79, '80, '81-2, '82-2, '83-4, '85-2, '86-2, '87-2, '90-2, '91-2, '92-2, '93-2, '94-2,
'95-2, '96-2, '97-2,'98-2, '99-2, '00-2, '01-3 Suva, Fiji '63, '64, '66, '67, '68, '69, '70, '71, '77 Noumea, New Caledonia '63, '65, '66, '68, '70, '78 Levuka, Fiji '65, '68, '69, '71 Hilo, Hawaii '81, '83, '86, '00 Kahului, Hawaii '83, '85, '87, '01 Espirito Santo, Vanuatu '64, '67, '71 Apra Harbor, Guam '80, '89 Singapore '61 Sandakan, Malaysia '62 Kaohshiung, Taiwan '62 Townsville, Australia '62 Rabaul, Papua New Guinea '75 Koror, Palau '75 Sydney, Australia '78 Honiara, Solomon Island '79 Nawiliwili, Hawaii '82 Port Allen, Hawaii '93
-3:three visits
-4:four visits
MLML: Moss Landing Marine Laboratories
MMD: Marine Mammal Division (NOAA)
NMML: National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NOAA)
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
ODSF: Odra Deep Sea Fishing Co. (Poland)
UAF: University of Alaska, Fairbanks
USFWS: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
UW: University of Washington
BMC: Bryn Marr College
CSUF: California State University, Fullerton
CWM: The College of William and Mary
DAR: Division of Aquatic Resources, State of Hawaii
DU: Dalhousie University (Canada)
LA: Laboratoire Arago (France)
NMFS-HL: National Marine Fisheries Service-Honolulu Lab
NMNH: National Museum of Natural History
OI: Oceanic Institute (Hawaii)
SLP: Sea Life Park (Hawaii)
TAMU: Texas A&M University
UHH: University of Hawaii at Hilo
UHM: University of Hawaii at Manoa
UT: University of Texas