Adventure World is pleased to report that spawning has been confirmed again for the 2025 season in the spawning bed project for the bluefin reef squid, which reuses bamboo left uneaten by giant pandas. This marks the fourth consecutive year of successful spawning since the project began. On July 3, the first spawning beds were installed at a fishing port in Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture. The leftover bamboo that was prepared as the last meal for the pandas, who returned to China on June 28, was used for this installation, and the baton of life was connected to a new stage.

Key Points
1) Successful egg laying for the fourth consecutive year
2) Part of the egg mass is now on display at Kyoto University Shirahama Aquarium again this year
3) The "last bamboo" leftover from the four pandas that returned home on June 28 was installed at a fishing port in Kishiwada City

■４年連続の産卵確認と展示
６月に白浜町の伊古木漁港に設置した３０基のうち、すでに２２基に産卵を確認しました。卵塊の一部を京都大学白浜水族館で展示し、孵化までの様子を来館者のみなさまにご覧いただきます。

＜展示について＞
・場所
京都大学白浜水族館（和歌山県白浜町）
・期間
２０２５年７月２日（水）～１０月下旬を予定
孵化後は稚イカを海に放流し、新しく産卵した卵塊を展示します。
・時間
午前９時～午後５時　開館中ご覧いただけます。
・展示
水槽内でパンダが食べ残した竹に産卵されたアオリイカの卵塊をご覧いただけます。運がよければ卵から孵化するシーンをご覧いただけるかもしれません。
・放流　
７月１３日（日）より水槽内で孵化が始まり、７月２１日（月）時点で７０５匹が孵化し、すでに近海へ放流しています。

The display at Kyoto University Shirahama Aquarium

■ First installation in Kishiwada City
Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, which has procured bamboo for the giant pandas' diet, installed 21 units at a fishing port in the city on Thursday, July 3, for the first time this season. Using the last remaining bamboo branches and leaves from Kishiwada City before the pandas' return to Japan, we made and installed spawning beds with sixth grade students of Shusai Elementary School in Kishiwada City. The bamboo provided by Kishiwada City over the years was used for the first time as a place to nurture new life in the local sea. From now on, through monitoring surveys, we will confirm the presence or absence of spawning of bluefin reef squid and the presence or absence of attached residues.


W e will continue to investigate the spawning status and attached seaweeds and organisms of each of the 30 units installed at the Ikoki fishing port in Shirahama-cho and the 21 units at the Kishiwada fishing port.
Environmental DNA survey (eDNA survey) by Kyoto University will be conducted. This is a cutting-edge survey method that collects and analyzes DNA from organisms floating in the water to determine the presence and changes in the population of bluefin reef squid and other fish species, which are difficult to confirm even by diving surveys because they tend to run away when people approach. We will scientifically verify how the marine biota has changed before and after the installation.

Background and future prospects of this activity
In the sea of Shirahama, seaweed suitable for spawning of bluefin reef squid is decreasing due to the recent rise in sea water temperature and the expansion of the distribution of algae-eating fish. Meanwhile, in satoyama, the increase in neglected bamboo forests has become an issue, requiring bamboo management and utilization. At Adventure World, bamboo that has been cut down has been used as food for giant pandas, but since pandas eat only some of the branches and leaves, a large amount of the bamboo is left uneaten. In June 2025, the pandas returned to China, but this activity will continue as an ongoing project for the purpose of preserving the natural environment and working with the local community. We will continue this activity as an ongoing project to conserve the natural environment and cooperate with the local community. In addition, it has been confirmed that bluefin squid prey on juvenile algae-eating fish, which may help prevent rocky shore scorch. Furthermore, it has been shown that sunken bamboo attracts mollusks, and the organic matter decomposed from the bamboo may contribute to nutrient cycles in the sea. While continuing to investigate and utilize the bamboo, we aim to build a wide-area environmental conservation model that connects satoyama and satoumi in cooperation with various entities such as local governments, educational institutions, local residents, and fishery officials.

Co-organizers]
Shirahama Town, Kishiwada City, Kyoto University Seto Rinkai Experiment Station
[Cooperation]
Aori Community, Osaka Federation of Fishery Cooperative Associations, Kishiwada Nature Museum, Kishiwada Board of Education, Shusai Elementary School, Kishiwada City, Kyohei Senpaku, Koide Watership, Trib Diving School, Hiro Melabo, Wakayama Minami Fishery Cooperative Association (alphabetical order)

Results of last season's (2024) activities
1) Successful spawning and hatching of bluefin reef squid
・Confirmed spawning of bluefin reef squid in most of the 64 units installed
・2,641 young squid hatched from eggs displayed at Kyoto University Shirahama Aquarium, and were released

②沿岸生態系への貢献
・竹に着生した海藻類
　シワヤハズ、タマイタダキなどの海藻類が確認され、海藻の成長基盤となることを確認
・付着生物
　甲殻類（ワレカラ、フジツボ）、ゴカイ類、巻貝類の卵塊などが竹に付着していることを確認
・生態系の回復の兆し
　海藻の増加 → 小型生物の生息数増加 → 生物多様性の向上が期待される

③普及活動の成果
・京都大学白浜水族館での展示期間中には、延べ１９，２８１人が来館し、多くの方々が活動に触れる機会となりました。
・また、白浜町立日置中学校の生徒や、岸和田市立修斉小学校・白浜町立富田小学校の児童も産卵床の製作と設置体験に参加し、沿岸環境への理解を深める貴重な学びの場となりました。