NewzVille Exclusive
Rising ocean temperatures and other factors causing by climate change seriously impact marine ecosystems. So the question arises how to conserve the rare, beautiful, and colorful corals.
Corals are highly sensitive to environmental changes, making artificial cultivation extremely difficult.
But a Tokyo-based startup Innoqua Inc. made it possible by reversing seasonal seawater conditions nearly six months in advance, able to successfully shift the typical spawning season in Japan from June to Februar, which is a ‘world-first achievement’.
Innoqua’s proprietary technology uses IoT and AI to regulate various parameters such as water quality and temperature, light, and the balance of coexisting organisms, creating aquariums that precisely replicate natural marine environments.
The company built its unique system by giving a central role in R&D to highly skilled aquarists who had mastered the technique of breeding aquatic organisms in aquariums, utilizing their practical knowledge and expertise to form its foundation.
Impressive results have been achieved in the field of coral cultivation, led by MASUDA Naoki, the company’s Chief Aquarium Officer (CAO) and a core member since its founding in 2019.
Innoqua succeeded in facilitating the spawning of Montipora digitata, or finger coral, in an artificial seawater aquarium in 2022.
“Our goal is to create a world where people and nature live in harmony and thrive together. We would like to expand the choices available for mutually beneficial coexistence with other living organisms,” says Innoqua’s COO, TAKEUCHI Shiki.
The company is already focusing on five biomes, including coral reefs and seaweed beds, and participating in a wide range of initiatives, from sunscreen safety assessments for marine environments to joint research projects on materials that could aid coral cultivation and regeneration.
