At universities located in rural areas, students whose homes are in these areas have decreased due to a decrease in population and lower percentage of students proceeding to higher education. On the other hand, the ratio of students from metropolitan areas has increased. As students often return to their hometown after graduation and find employment in metropolitan areas, this tendency can affect the curriculum policies of local universities in the future. After graduation, many students enter graduate school or find jobs using their specialty in the field of fisheries and ocean science, while other students find jobs at different workplaces that are not related to their specialty. Therefore, it is important to educate the students so that they become active in many fields with practical skills, problem-solving ability, communication skills in foreign languages etc., as well as in their academic specialty. Active-learning methods, cooperation between universities and comprehensive education with a broad view （e.g., both general and specific topics from the different local areas）can be effective education in the university. Furthermore, it is necessary for the faculty members to conduct steady instructional activities for the local society members to sustainably develop the field of fisheries and ocean science.

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The marine education for children and teenagers is absolutely imperative for the recruitment of the next generation of oceanographers and science of fisheries researchers. In recent years, the interests of the younger generations lie far away from ocean and marine recreation. We decided to develop new interactive marine educational programs for the younger generations to increase their interest in the ocean. We have developed and applied educational programs using two stages of the active learning method to students of primary school and high school in Uwajima city, which is the most active city for aquaculture in Japan. We have collaborated with several local communities, such as NPOs, high schools, research laboratories, and local governments, to develop the educational programs. At the first stage of active learning, the high school students learn and think about the specialties and environmental problems regarding the ocean based on the interactive educational programs by oceanographers. At the second stage, the high school students develop their own original educational programs for the primary school students and teach the children by themselves. After the education programs, the interest of the primary school students in the ocean and marine organisms increased due to the joyful and kind teaching by the high school students. The interest of the high school students was also increased by their deep learning of oceanography for teaching the children. We successfully constructed a local marine educational network by collaborating with the local communities. For application of the educational programs to several local classrooms, we developed a DVD summarizing the teaching materials and it contains explanatory movies of each program by the high school students. We hope the students who experienced the marine educational programs will be the next generations of oceanographers and science of fisheries researchers.

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In order to preserve the Earth’s environment and progress oceanic development for a sustainable society, we need to understand the oceanic environment and foster active talents to build comprehensive knowledge of the ocean, including techniques in research and environmental analysis. To foster these talents, we established a license course for“Marine Environmentalist”at the School of Marine Science and Technology in Tokai University in 2006. Currently, approximately 50 graduate students have received the license. In this paper, we will introduce the human education in our university based on the spirit of the university’s founder, details on the school’s establishment and our environmental education. Then, we will describe the contents of the licensing course for“Marine Environmentalist”, and the fostered talents and their future problems.

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In the Third Science and Technology Basic Plan decided by the Cabinet in 2006, “Science and technology dialogue with the people” was included, and in higher education institutions, there is active training of scientific communicators. Today, natural disasters and secondary disasters occur frequently along with the development of science and technology. As such, social interest in science and technology dialogue is rising. TUMSAT launched a program in 2007 to promote science and technology dialogue on the Aquatic Marine Environment. Working on the training of aquatic marine environmental education promotion leaders, aquatic marine environmental literacy based on the idea of aquatic marine environmental education has spread. Aquatic marine environmental education aims to train personnel capable of “observation, thought, understanding, ecision−making and behavior transmission”. It is also an effective means for achieving SDGs. In this paper, we report on the results of the Aquatic Marine Environmental Literacy Education Promotion Program we have been working on and the future issues.

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At the University of Tokyo, “Interdisciplinary Education Program on Ocean Science and Policy” has been implemented in collaboration with graduate school departments since 2009 for the comprehensive development of ocean science and fostering of human resources for integration and internationalization of Japanese ocean policy. The “Seminar in Marine Affairs” composed of an omnibus lecture during the summer semester and PBL（Problem-Based Learning）in the winter semester, and “Practice in Internship for Ocean Law and Ocean Policy”, which is an internship in Japanese ministries and international organizations, are the characteristics of this educational program. Graduate students will be required to obtain a total of 14 designated units for receiving the educational program graduation certificate.

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Experimental stations for fisheries science play an import role in the education of students and provide hands-on experience, which serves to deepen their understanding of important concepts in subjects such as aquatic organisms and their habitats, marine and inland water environments, and seed production and aquaculture. Such experience and training is a vital part of fostering researchers and technical experts in the fisheries and marine industries. In collaboration with other universities, experimental stations in Japan have initiated a new approach for higher degree education by establishing an educational and training system that can provide students with extensive experience and knowledge in fisheries science. In this paper, we will introduce these approaches that are being used to enhance student education

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Many Fishery High Schools have undergone consolidation, whilst the other schools have closed due to the changes in the roles and the effects of declining birthrates. “Fishery High Schools”have been changing into“Ocean High Schools”，focusing on learning about the ocean. However, there is no substantial change in the role of human resources development for the fishery industry and the shipping industry has not changed. Currently, many Fishery High Schools carry out several activities in collaboration with regional communities and volunteers. Some students desire to have a higher education, wanting to improve their expertise and skills at university. Collaboration between universities and Fishery High schools may be necessary for such human resource development.

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In consulting businesses in coastal seas areas, it is necessary to observe and analyze conditions of the flow, water quality and ecosystem, which make it possible to explain the field phenomena quantitatively. The vast and complicated field phenomena are divided into several elemental components, which should be explained logically and quantitatively. Furthermore, these components should be reintegrated to reproduce the complicated phenomena with high accuracy. These processes are essential to the applied studies of oceanography and coastal engineering. This report demonstrates that advancement and integration of past studies are necessary for the applied studies on the coastal sea area, and they are useful for consulting businesses ; two example are herein described. For the future, it will be necessary to train young students and researchers in order to manage the applied studies well.

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Regional public research institutes are one of the job opportunities for graduate students and postdoctoral scientists in fisheries and ocean sciences who seek research positions after graduating. Regional public research institutes have different tasks than the other research positions. They make plans based on the policies of local governments rather than the researcher’s individual scientific interests. It is necessary for the researchers to conduct experimental research that satisfies the needs of the fishermen and the local government. Although the competencies necessary for the researchers at public institutes are basically the same as those for other institutes, the following are special requirements : thinking and describing theoretically, identifying and solving public problems, and making research plans and reporting to local governments. They also need to be proficient in scientific communication to describe their research plans and results in an easy-to-understand way for the public and fishermen in particular. This suggests that the researchers in regional public research institutes have specific experimental research plans and results that directly contribute to fishermen and fisheries.

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The Oceanographic Society of Japan started a school visit program in 2016. The program is intended mainly for elementary school students, junior high school students and high school students to become interested in natural sciences, especially in oceanography. The number of lecturers is 39（3 in Hokkaido, 3 in Tohoku, 22 in Kanto, including Tokyo, 5 in Chubu, 2 in Chugoku-Shikoku and 4 in Kyushu-Okinawa）as of February 2016, and many of them are able to visit all parts of the country. The lectures include a wide range of topics : from the equator to the Arctic／Antarctic, from the ocean surface to the bottom, fromphytoplankton to large fish, from coastal oceanography to global ocean circulation, from physical oceanography to marine biology,from oceanography as one of the natural sciences to the relation between the ocean and our life or to marine resourcedevelopment／marine protection. In this manuscript, we introduce the contents of the lecture and flow of the school visit program　from the application to the school visit, and briefly discuss the future perspective of the program. We hope that we are able to　make a contribution to the spread and enlightenment of the knowledge of natural sciences, especially oceanography, through this　school visit program.

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