Hokkaido University and JAL Group to Commence World’s First Regular Flight-Based Ocean Observation

Hokkaido University (Location: Sapporo, Hokkaido; President: Kiyohiro Houkin ) and Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa, Tokyo; President: Mitsuko Tottori, “JAL”) signed a partnership agreement in June 2022 to address various social issues in Hokkaido and lead the creation of a sustainable society. As part of this collaboration, Hokkaido Air System Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Sapporo, Hokkaido; President: Eiji Takemura, “HAC”) will equip one of its aircraft with an external camera to commence the world’s first regular flight-based red tide monitoring starting in the summer of 2025.

The captured image data will be used to detect red tide occurrences early and promptly provide information to fisheries stakeholders, thereby preventing damage to marine environment as well as the fishing industry. In the future, the system is also expected to be used for broader environmental monitoring of forests and oceans.

The complete press release is available as a PDF here.