Tuesday, May 12, 2015

日本鰻養殖許可制

日本為實行日本鰻養殖許可制進行公共意見徵詢 
日本水產廳增殖部栽培養殖課基於去年11月通過之「內水面漁業振興法」中,日本鰻之養殖已被定為「指定養殖漁業」,即從今年11月起日本鰻之養殖漁業將實施「政府許可制」,因此自3月13日起迄4月11日止就此一省令進行「大眾意見徵詢」。事實上從去年秋天開始日本鰻之養殖已運用申報制,但因內水面振興法尚未正式生效,真正實施許可制是今年秋天以後的事。而日本鰻養殖漁業改為許可制,是模仿漁船漁業之許可制,藉由漁船漁業的許可制,限制漁船船隻數與船噸數,以達到漁獲能力之控制,因此日本鰻養殖業許可制,即為「限制日本鰻養殖之入池量,以控制日本鰻之生產量」。基本上改為許可制後是重視過去養殖實績,因此新加入者之門檻會提高,許可之申請手續費4,000日圓,申請許可變更時需2,200日圓,申請內容修正或補正申請850日圓,有違反制度之行為時,得罰三年之勞役並課以200萬日圓以下之罰金。截至4月9日止,已報備之養殖業者有515件,原則上至6月1日前完成報備之業者,將被視為在2016年漁期開始之一定期間獲得許可

        為此成立之一般社團法人全日本可持續養鰻組織於去年10月開始運作,首任會長於今年3月18日召開之臨時會員大會上致辭表示:「國內之養鰻事業因日本鰻有可能列入華盛頓公約之附錄而陷入絕境,響起了存續之警鐘,在政府之主導下,為避免日本鰻被列入瀕危名錄而努力。」日本水產廳增殖部長長谷成人則表示:「日本有必要領導日本鰻之資源管理,否則其他國家對鰻魚資源管理恐怕不動如山,因此首先必須強固日本的國內管理體制,才能進而強化國際管理體制,達到日本鰻之管理效果。」該部長傳達了日本政府堅強的決心。在18日的臨時會中水產廳說明了許可制之政令與省令,與會者雖然對制度之內容沒有提出異議,但有鑑於今年後半期之入池量又陷入低迷之狀態,隨著許可制之實施,嚴厲的一口氣進行入池量的削減,令業者對養鰻業之前景湧起不安之聲浪不絕於耳。

       
許金漢,摘譯自日刊水產經濟新聞,20 March 2015;王清要,摘譯自日本港都新聞, 10 April 2015

日本鰻深淺洄游

日本研究指出日本鰻成魚隨日出日落進行深淺洄游

日本鰻之成魚對日出日落有感知能力,並依此而進行非常規則的深淺洄游。迄今還是謎團的產卵洄游路徑之究明,期待能推定其日出、日落時刻鰻魚游泳地點之經緯度。為此日本水產總合研究中心進行此一課題之調查,並於今年3月16日發表其成果。

該中心於2012-2014年在被認為是日本鰻產卵場的馬里亞納海嶺周邊水域及日本近海,針對日本鰻成魚裝置了超音波發射器,並進行其游行路徑調查。其結果顯示在日出前約1小時,其開始有潛行之行為,並隨日落之同時,有開始上浮之行為,是極具規則的做深淺洄游之型式。白天棲息水層深度約在500-800公尺,夜間則上浮至150-300公尺間,也就是其在800公尺之深海尚可對太陽光有感知之能力。再者因為已知深淺行動與日出、日落時間有緊密連接關係,所以只要有其棲息深度之數據,大概可以推定日出日落之時刻。另外日出日落時刻知道的話,也可推定游泳地點之經緯度,因此只要有日本鰻棲息深度之數據,日本鰻的游泳地點大概能推定,該中心增養殖研究所資源生產部人員山本敏博表示:「這是為究明迄今為止仍是謎團的產卵洄游路徑的突破性發現。」日本鰻養殖是東南亞非常重要的產業,但仍然百分之百依賴野生種苗,然而近年來作為種苗之鰻線來游量急劇的減產,對該產業造成很大之衝擊。在生態上已經了解馬里亞納海域為其產卵場,日本水產總合研究中心與水產廳歷經二十年努力,也在產卵場之海域成功捕獲孕卵之親魚,然而其洄游行動及其到產卵場為止之洄游路徑則尚待究明。

鰻魚資源養護與管理國際合作正朝向建立具有法律拘束力架構邁進

鰻魚資源養護與管理國際合作正朝向建立具有法律拘束力架構邁進
(http://www.fa.gov.tw/cht/PublicationsPubGlobal/)


日本鰻(Anguilla japonica)是台灣水產養殖的重要經濟魚種之一,又鰻苗捕撈是臺灣沿海漁民冬季重要傳統漁業活動之一。然而,近年來鰻苗捕獲量屢創新低,嚴重困擾著整個東亞鰻魚產業,亦引發相關國際組織的關切。國際自然保育聯盟(International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources;IUCN)作業小組在2013年7月呼籲將日本鰻列入「瀕臨絕種物種」之檢討對象,並於2014年6月12日正式公佈將日本鰻列入IUCN紅色名冊(Red List)之瀕危(Endangered (EN) A2bc)等級,國際專家學者也刻正進行包含日本鰻在內19種鰻魚之生態調查。

        鑑於國際對於鰻苗資源管理日益重視,臺灣、日本及中國大陸為西太平洋鰻苗資源之主要利用國家,爰自2012年起於亞太經濟合作(Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation;APEC)架構下,分別於日本長崎、菲律賓馬尼拉、中國大陸上海、日本福岡、東京、中國大陸青島及日本東京共召開7次「鰻魚養護與管理國際合作非正式會議(The Meeting of the Informal Consultation on International Cooperation for Conservation and Management of Japanese Eel Stock and Other Relevant Eel Species)」(以下簡稱:鰻魚非正式會議),另菲律賓及韓國等2個經濟體於2013年9月召開第4次鰻魚非正式會議時正式加入,共同進行鰻魚資源管理合作事宜。會中討論議題包括鰻魚(苗)漁獲與養殖狀況、生態與資源之資訊蒐集及科學研究,以及強化資源管理(包括可追溯性之要求)等資訊交流,並各自訂定管理規範或尋求合作管理之模式,以期復育日本鰻資源並避免日本鰻被列入瀕臨絕種野生動植物國際貿易公約(Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora;CITES)附錄中管理。

        由於CITES第17次締約國大會(COP17)訂於2016年7月在南非召開,而部分CITES締約國可能在CITES會前9個月就美洲鰻及其他鰻鱺屬物種提案管制(即2015年11月),為能向外界表達各經濟體對鰻魚資源養護與管理的決心,前述經濟體於2014年9月第7次非正式會議共同發表聯合聲明(Joint Statement),該聲明除承認日本鰻在鰻線階段的捕撈以中長期而言已持續下降,此下降已推定係棲地/環境劣化、海洋變遷及過度捕撈所造成;也承認日本鰻洄游至東亞地區的沿岸海域,係在此區域已是被利用之共同資源,且就其洄游性質,日本鰻資源的養護及管理需要區域性合作;此外,考量日本鰻在鰻線階段供應量的衰減,已導致其他異種鰻引入東亞地區的養殖池,此現象可能對其他異種鰻造成負面影響;另亦關切儘管有些經濟體已採取措施限制鰻線出口,惟似乎仍有大量鰻線持續在中國大陸、日本、韓國及台灣間進行交易之事實。因此,前述經濟體在聯合聲明達成之共識重點包括:
  • 野生捕撈之鰻線及鰻苗(以下簡稱為鰻種苗)初次放入養殖池之放養量限制行動;
  • 鰻種苗初次放入養殖池的放養量及養殖生產量的監控;
  • 養殖鰻魚及鰻魚產製品貿易統計資訊的蒐集;
  • 每一與會經濟體將鼓勵鰻魚養殖戶等相關團體,倘必要包括貿易商,成立一個國內鰻魚養殖管理非政府協會以確保前述養護與管理措施之有效執行;
  • 由非政府協會共同創立「永續鰻魚養殖聯盟(Alliance for Sustainable Eel Aquaculture;ASEA)」之國際非政府組織,以相互監督及交流前述養護與管理措施之執行狀況;
  • 未來將持續討論改善鰻魚貿易透明化之措施;
  • 與會經濟體將持續並共同合作以強化鰻魚資源養護及管理措施。為此目的,倘適當,將考量可能建立具有法律拘束力的架構。

        然而,軟性不具法律拘束力之聯合聲明恐難說服外界避免將日本鰻提列CITES附錄管理,加上可能有CITES締約國於2015年底提案,鑒於時間緊迫,前述經濟體立即於2015年2月初在日本東京召開「國際鰻魚資源養護與管理協定草案非正式籌備會(Informal meeting of consultations on the international agreement on conservation and management of eel resources)」,就建立具法律拘束力架構與未來協商模式進行討論。會議共識重點如下:
  • 為了鰻魚的資源養護與管理,將共同通過國際具法律拘束力之文書;
  • 會議決議由日本農林水產省國際顧問宮原正典擔任往後協商會議之主席;
  • 訂定2015年工作計畫,將於2015年6月初在北海道召開第8屆鰻魚國際養護與管理非正式會議、ASEA第1次正式會議及首屆鰻魚養護與管理諮商正式會議;於9月舉行第2次鰻魚養護與管理協定諮商正式會議。

        日本鰻係降河性洄游物種,其漁業利用皆位在各經濟體的領海甚至內水水域內,有別於在公海上或專屬經濟水域捕撈之鮪類及類鮪類等高度洄游物種,因此其資源養護與管理的國際合作模式亦將可能與現行針對高度洄游魚種的區域性漁業管理組織不同。期待未來能有量身訂做及新合作思維為基礎之鰻魚管理組織,以展現各方養護日本鰻資源的共同努力。

       

行政院農業委員會漁業署 陳汾蘭、鄭又華,中華民國對外漁業合作發展協會 傅家驥

Wednesday, May 06, 2015

募資! 建立鰻魚催熟的操作配方(regimen),建立可行與可推廣的操作模式。


關於募資科學項目內容

  1. 關於這次募資的研究的介紹:目的、重要性、執行內容、需要的資源、可能結果。



  • 重要性: 鰻魚瀕臨絕種!在人類尚未完全了解牠們之前。世界上幾種主要的鰻魚種類(包括日本鰻、歐洲鰻及美洲鰻),其鰻苗 (glass eel) 捕獲量嚴重下滑;歐洲鰻下滑的趨勢從1970年代開始,現在資源量已經下降到1980年代資源量的10%,日本鰻及美洲鰻的資源水平更是下降90-99%。臺灣鰻魚養殖歷史超過50年,1956年開始鰻魚的養殖,1958年以後養鰻成為熱門的行業,民國六十年代,鰻魚產業快速成長,這年代外銷日本的金額高達200億台幣。養鰻業所需鰻苗至今均倚賴天然捕撈,天然鰻線的捕獲量並沒有跟著增加,而是呈現周期性的變動。但近年來主要鰻苗捕獲量不足,已使台灣放養量及生產量急遽減少。2006-2009年亞洲地區每年鰻苗捕獲量超過50公噸,但2010年亞洲地區的鰻苗總捕獲量只有25.5公噸,日本鰻鰻苗已連續3年遭遇漁獲量不佳的窘境,2012年日本鰻鰻苗每尾價格衝破貳百元,鰻魚產業面臨嚴重衝擊。雖然鰻魚人工繁殖已成功,但成功率 (0.3%) 不高,並不符經濟效益。由產業發展與經濟活動之需要,突顯鰻魚資源復育與鰻魚生物學研究之重要性。鰻魚之生活史,目前已經知道部份,但未完全清楚,基本上所有的鰻屬 (Anguillus) 生物都據有類似的生活史 牠們皆洄游至深海生殖。鰻魚生物學上的迷團:為何沒有「陸封型」的鰻魚?後天環境決定鰻魚的性別的機制為何?銀化如何被啟動?鰻魚怎知道降海的時間到了?為何鰻魚體內可累積大量的脂肪卻依然健康? 更好奇的是:海洋環境如何刺激鰻魚性成熟? 茫茫大海中鰻魚們如何定位與相遇?黑潮中養份並不豐富,但鰻魚苗如何存活與生長? 雖然鰻魚人工繁殖已成功,但成功率不高,並不符經濟效益,鰻魚人工繁殖之問題在:之一、影響鰻魚性成熟之內在 (例如: 內分泌, 體成份變化) 與環境 (例如: 鹽度, 溫度, 光照, 壓力…等等) 因子不明;之二、仔鰻之孵化、成長條件及初期餌料並不清楚,;之三、而目前鰻魚人工繁殖,其受精卵之取得,皆由長期注射異種生物(鯉魚、鮭魚)腦下垂體激素而來,可能使鰻魚處在不正常的生理狀況下。本計畫之內容則著重於: 以近年來生殖生理學的進步與突破,應用於鰻魚人工催熟,建立鰻魚人工催熟最佳操作配方與程序。
  • 執行內容:  以本團隊已建立的基礎於鰻魚人工催熟過程中添加不同的激素配方,例如: 性類固醇、腦下垂體研磨液、二級訊息傳遞者的增強劑或拮抗劑。因為生殖生理的內分泌變化是動態的、和環境互動的,故須以催熟結果建立可能的操作配方(regimen),此操作配方除激素處理也包含環境因子(鹽、溫、光度,水壓變化、運動量…)的控制,本研究暫以控制鹽、溫、光度為環境控制條件,建立可行與可推廣的操作模式。
     



 

  1. 如果要在最簡短的篇幅裡介紹,你會如何介紹這項研究?
    為天地立心(回復鰻魚資源)
    為生民立命(拯救台灣養鰻產業)
    為往聖繼絕學(生殖科學的研究)
    為萬世開太平(自我期許!!!)
     
  2. 執行團隊成員有哪些?團隊歷史?已進行相關研究多久?過去還進行過哪些相關研究?

  • 人力: 高雄大學生命科學系學生、生技所學生
  • 曾參與或協助人員: 海洋大學 ; 高雄海洋科技大學 ; 海生館 ; 水試所;尚美魚蝦繁養殖工作室。
  • 團隊歷史: 自2001年開始至今因在水試所、海生館、高雄大學工作而互相支援。

 

 

  1. 研究結果未來打算公開發表或有進一步的應用?
    公開發表!希望能有實際應用價值。若可因此獲利希望能回饋與壯大相關援助單位。

 

關於募資活動內容

  1. 您想募集多少經費預算以供本次研究使用?願意公開本研究的經費預算分配嗎?

    總經費150萬;

    願意公開本研究的預算分配與項品細目

 

  1. 對於募資活動的時程有任何特殊需求嗎?(如配合活動或季節)
    夏至(土用的丑之日)
    冬至(鰻苗撈補)
    公立單位(水試所、縣市政府)鰻魚放流活動
     
  2. 對於募資提供的回饋品是否有任何構想?有合作配合的廠商嗎?

目前可以考慮的項目有:明信片、紙膠帶、T恤、馬克杯

 

  1. 關於上架文宣是否有任何構想?能提供哪些現成的文字、圖片、影片素材?

  1. 文宣與現成的文字可由此網站 http://pimpeneaucity.blogspot.tw/search/label/eel 擷取
  2. 圖片 催熟過程 卵巢發育 卵巢切片 他校演講 國內外學術會議…

(由專家建議,我們負責提供與製造…)

 

  1. 網站

 

“鰻魚與貓”部落格

http://pimpeneaucity.blogspot.tw/

 

高雄大學認識鰻魚網


 

高雄大學網站


 

 

  1. 過去是否曾接受過任何媒體報導?能否提供我們參考資料?
    沒有媒體曾與我們接觸!
     
  2. 是否能提供幾個與研究主題相關的推薦人/名人、媒體名單?
    海洋大學
    台灣大學 漁科所
    水產試驗所
     
    水產出版社/臺灣水產電字報社長

Sunday, April 26, 2015

鰻魚恐限制出口

鰻魚恐限制出口 業者剉咧等

Thursday, April 23, 2015

2015鰻苗入池量

根據《日本養殖新聞》報導,截止4月20日,日本、中國大陸、韓國、臺灣共入池鰻苗30.3噸,遠低於去年同期80噸的入池量。

具體入池情況如下:

日本共入池鰻苗17噸,占總量的56.2%;

中國大陸共入池鰻苗8.2噸,占總量的27.1%;

韓國共入池鰻苗4.2噸,占總量的13.9%;

臺灣共入池鰻苗850㎏,占總量的2.8%。

(http://cwin.com/scpnews/view.asp?id=6836#.VTmMH1ulzZw.facebook)

幾點臆測


目前在鰻魚研究上有幾點臆測:

1.      黃鰻變成銀鰻時,下垂體的melanocortin 系統是大量表現 (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0077396)

2.     Melanocortin 可刺激小鼠性腺(精巢)初期發育 (http://www.reproduction-online.org/content/133/6/1181.short)


4.     基因重組的鰻魚 LH 或 FSH 對鰻魚卵巢的刺激功能遠遠不及腦下垂體研磨液 (http://www.biolreprod.org/content/79/5/938.long) Fig.7
 
故ACTH 系統對鰻魚性腺發育與黃–銀轉換是可以期待與試驗的,但不能否認太多的例子與證據顯示cortisol 對生殖的抑制作用。

Monday, April 20, 2015

日研究鰻魚活動模式

日研究揭鰻魚活動模式 白天深水活動 深夜移往較淺水位置(2015/4/19)
(http://www.mingpaocanada.com/realtimenews/VAN/content_international_NEW.cfm?aid=165783&m=0)


日本水產綜合研究中心日前發表一份公報稱,其研究小組首次弄清了日本鰻魚的行動模式,發現日本鰻魚能夠感知太陽光和月光,在深夜游到比較淺的位置,而白天則移動到較深位置。
由於根據這種行動模式可以推測鰻魚的位置,將有助於弄清日本鰻魚前往產卵場的洄游路線之謎。
鰻魚營養豐富,是日本人夏天最愛吃的美食之一,不過近年來,捕獲量卻不斷下降,世界自然保護聯盟(IUCN)去年6月12日宣布,已將日本鰻魚列入瀕危物種紅色名錄,因此,弄清鰻魚的生活方式和洄游路線,對於保護鰻魚非常重要。
日本鰻魚在日本國內的河流和湖泊長大後,會在海中移動數千公里,前往遠洋產卵。研究小組2010年在作為日本鰻魚產卵場的太平洋馬利亞納海溝附近放流了11條帶有超聲波發射器的野生成年日本鰻魚,2012年在日本近海放流了5條帶有超聲波發射器的養殖成年日本鰻魚,然後利用漁業調查船進行了跟蹤調查。
研究小組通過超聲波發射器,調查了鰻魚所在位置的水深和水溫等數據,然後在船上觀測了太陽光的強度,詳細調查了與鰻魚游泳深度的關係。結果發現,野生鰻魚在日出約1小時之前就開始潛向海洋深處,白天在500米至800米深的深海活動,太陽光的強度越高,鰻魚活動的位置越深。此後,隨著太陽落山,鰻魚開始向上浮,到水深150米至300米的較淺位置活動。但是,養殖的鰻魚卻沒有看到這種行動模式。
研究小組認為,鰻魚在白天為了躲避外敵而潛到較深位置,但是深海水溫很低,所以在夜間又游到了比較溫暖的淺層位置。這種每天的活動非常有規律,能夠根據游泳深度數據的變化確定日出和日落的時刻,因此也可以推算游泳地點的經緯度,從而有望幫助弄清鰻魚從日本游到馬利亞納海溝附近產卵的洄游路線之謎。研究小組根據這種行動模式推算鰻魚的位置,發現和實際跟蹤時的位置基本一致。
研究小組認為,鰻魚眼球內應該具有即使在深海也能夠感光的高靈敏度感測器。今後,收集更多的鰻魚游泳深度的數據,就有可能掌握其洄游的線路。這一成果的論文已經刊登在新一期美國線上科學雜誌《公共科學圖書館綜合卷》上。



Light-Sensitive Vertical Migration of the Japanese Eel Anguilla japonica Revealed by Real-Time Tracking and Its Utilization for Geolocation
  • Published: April 15, 2015
  • DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0121801
  • (http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0121801)

    PTEN or Cilostazol on artificial-induced ovarian development in the Japanese eel


    PTEN or Cilostazol on artificial-induced ovarian development

    in the Japanese eel,  Anguilla Japonica

     

    Yung-Sen Huang1*, Jin-Chywan Gwo2, and Ching-Fong Chang2

    1 Depart. Life. Sci., National University of Kaohsiung;

    2 Depart. Aquaculture, National Taiwan Ocean University;

    yshuang@nuk.edu.tw

     

    The stimulatory effects of gonaotropins upon ovarian development are mainly provoked by the intracellular cAMP production through GPCR (G-protein-couple receptors); furthermore, PI3K (phosphoinositide-3-kinases) pathway is now recognized as one critical pathways in early follicular development, roles of the PI3K were revealed by deletion of PTEN (Phosphatase and Tensin homolog on chromosome 10). Two forms of PTEN have been cloned from the Japanese eel. Cilostazol (Pletal®) is a selective inhibitor of phosphodiesterase type III (PDE3, mainly located in mammalian ovarian follicle cells) and Cilostazol-induced vasculo-angiogenesis effects have also been shown, but there is no data on its effects in fish. The natural blockage and inducible of ovarian development in the eel was a benefit to study roles of PTEN and Cilostazol on the induced ovarian growth. Our data suggested that two forms of PTEN are existing in the eel, and progress of ovarian development corresponded to the decrease of ovarian PTEN expression, vice versa. A continuing administration of PDE3 inhibitor had inhibitory effects on the induced ovarian development in the Japanese eel, and intracellular cAMP levels seem to be temporal and spatial regulated in the eel ovarian follicles.  The applications of PTEN-inhibitors and/or PDE3-inhibitors might be useful to get a good quality egg from artificial maturation.  

     

    Key words: Anguilla japonica, cAMP, Cilostazol, ovary, PDE3, PI3K, PTEN, T

    Melanocortin and Reproduction

    The Pituitary Gland of the European Eel Reveals Massive Expression of Genes Involved in the Melanocortin System

    • Published: October 10, 2013
    Hormones secreted from the pituitary gland regulate important processes such as development, growth and metabolism, reproduction, water balance, and body pigmentation. Synthesis and secretion of pituitary hormones are regulated by different factors from the hypothalamus, but also through feedback mechanisms from peripheral organs, and from the pituitary itself. In the European eel extensive attention has been directed towards understanding the different components of the brain-pituitary-gonad axis, but little is known about the regulation of upstream processes in the pituitary gland. In order to gain a broader mechanistic understanding of the eel pituitary gland, we have performed RNA-seq transcriptome profiling of the pituitary of prepubertal female silver eels. RNA-seq reads generated on the Illumina platform were mapped to the recently assembled European eel genome. The most abundant transcript in the eel pituitary codes for pro-opiomelanocortin, the precursor for hormones of the melanocortin system. Several genes putatively involved in downstream processing of pro-opiomelanocortin were manually annotated, and were found to be highly expressed, both by RNA-seq and by qPCR. The melanocortin system, which affects skin color, energy homeostasis and in other teleosts interacts with the reproductive system, has so far received limited attention in eels. However, since up to one third of the silver eel pituitary’s mRNA pool encodes pro-opiomelanocortin, our results indicate that control of the melanocortin system is a major function of the eel pituitary.




    Effects of ACTH and expression of the melanocortin-2 receptor in the neonatal mouse                                                   

    Abstract

    ACTH has been shown to stimulate androgen production by the fetal/neonatal mouse testis through the melanocortin type 2 receptor (MC2R). This study was designed to localize the expression of MC2R in the neonatal mouse testis and characterize the effects of ACTH on testicular androgen production. Using immunohistochemistry, MC2R was localized to the fetal-type Leydig cell population of the neonatal testis. ACTH caused a time-dependent increase in cyclic AMP (cAMP) and testosterone production by isolated cells with an increase in cAMP apparent in < 3 min. There was no additive effect of maximally stimulating doses of ACTH and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). Androgen production in response to ACTH and hCG was reduced by UO126 and dexamethasone, which are the inhibitors of ERK1/2 and phospholipase A2 respectively. Expression of mRNA encoding StAR was increased fourfold by both ACTH and hCG, although expression of mRNA encoding for steroidogenic enzymes was not markedly affected. The potency of N-terminal fragments of ACTH to stimulate androgen production was similar to that seen previously in the adrenal. Data indicate that both LH and ACTH, acting through their respective receptors, stimulate steroidogenesis by fetal-type Leydig cells via arachidonic acid, protein kinase A, and ERK1/2 activation of StAR.






    Huang YS, Rousseau K, Sbaihi M, Le Belle N, Schmitz M et al. (1999) Cortisol selectively stimulates pituitary gonadotropin beta-subunit in a primitive teleost, Anguilla anguilla. Endocrinology 140: 1228–1235. doi:10.1210/en.140.3.1228. PubMed: 10067848.

    Thursday, March 26, 2015

    日本鰻資源還是充滿了謎題

    日學者指出日本鰻資源還是充滿了謎題

    (http://www.fa.gov.tw/cht/PublicationsPubGlobal/)
    2015/3
     
            日本東京海洋大學經營管理研究會於2015年1月15日邀請中央大學海部建二助理教授以「認識鰻魚生態」為題舉行演講會,海部助理教授研究河川與沿岸水域日本鰻之生態,也參與國際自然及天然資源保護協會(IUCN)有關鰻屬魚類之評估。海部助教表示:「日本鰻資源減少雖然可能是海洋環境變化、河川與沿岸水域環境變化及人類之消費等原因所造成,但沒有辦法把握親魚之資源量,連放流之實際成果都沒有辦法掌握,研究人員太少了。」依據海部助教之調查顯示,在日本113條主要河川中,沒有妨害日本鰻溯河之橫斷構造物之河川只有3條,而且這3條河川位於幾乎沒有鰻苗溯河之北海道與沖繩地區。因此他表示:「這可能對資源造成極大之影響,今後有必要進一步調查與評估,在英國有類似此種結構物新造之時,有義務建築鰻魚溯河之魚道。」另外鰻魚的生物學特性不像其他生物般在不同水域有不同之個體群,而是在特定水域產卵孵化之仔稚魚分散到各個成育場,到產卵期前才再回歸到產卵場集結。因此鰻魚之復育不像其他有個體群之生物一樣,當一局部水域之個體群有滅絕危機之時,保護另一個健康之個體群,以復育有滅絕危機之個體群,即此一方法並不適用魚鰻魚之復育,而且一旦資源減少,就有滅絕之可能,現在鰻魚資源已鳴起了響鐘,再者,日本鰻一旦其上游之河川的環境已大幅惡化,本來準備溯河之鰻苗可能會大量死亡,所以「不能只針對特定河川環境之維護,必須改善廣河川域之環境才可。」

            有關鰻魚之放流方面,該助教表示:「放流效果及其對既有生態系之影響均不了解,放流稚魚成長慢,以及是否真的是放流之日本鰻等實態無法掌握,另外如果只是因為日本鰻資源減少,所以只針對日本鰻去保育是不行的,應包括河川環境、生態環境平衡之觀點去改善。」

           
    (許金漢,摘譯自日刊水產經濟新聞,21 January 2015)

    Thursday, March 12, 2015

    即便如此,還是想吃鰻魚

    即便如此,還是想吃鰻魚

    (http://www.nippon.com/hk/views/b01710/?pnum=1)

    前所未聞,「一直在吃鰻魚」的漫畫

    Roswell Hosoki先生生於1956年,山形縣米澤市人。1983年出道。作品主題多涉及酒和佐酒菜餚。代表作有《酒之細道》(日本文藝社)等。2010年出任山形縣米澤市觀光大使。
    烤鰻魚(※1)那種甘甜芬芳的香氣總會令人食慾大增。人們一般會在夏天的「土用丑日(※2)」食用鰻魚,以避免中暑,但據說野生鰻魚的最佳食用時期其實是秋冬季節。如今,只要提到鰻魚,人們總覺得價格昂貴,若是聽說有人整年都在各地品嚐鰻魚,恐怕會感到羨慕不已——「真是太奢侈了!」
    此人便是和服店的少東家藤岡椒太郎,只要閒下來,就一門心思地四處品嚐鰻魚。和未婚妻的約會地點也選在鰻魚餐廳,終於有一次被甩了一句「你乾脆和鰻魚結婚吧」,鬧得不歡而散。這位紈褲子弟便是《U》這本漫畫的主角。故事從2010年開始在週刊《Morning》(講談社)上連載了約兩年時間,至今仍為人們津津樂道。總之,這是一個「一直在吃鰻魚」的故事。閱讀時總會讓人食指大動。
    《U》單行本全4卷
    據說作者Roswell Hosoki先生關注的是「如何在不會散發香味的黑白畫面漫畫世界中讓讀者們產生對鰻魚的食慾」。
    「開始連載漫畫後,我便奔赴日本各地採訪,在品嚐當地土生鰻魚,調查整理鰻魚相關所見所聞的過程中,我切實感受到,無論作為一種飲食文化,還是一種生物,它都比我最初想像的更加有趣、更加深奧。」
    近年來,人們開始重視「資源保護」,鰻魚市場形勢嚴峻,而Roswell先生依然千方百計地想要繼承日本的鰻魚飲食文化,我們聽取了他的看法。

    江戶時代傳承下來的味道與技藝

    今天,一聽到「江戶前」三個字,大家都會聯想到壽司。然而,過去提到「江戶前」,想到的卻是鰻魚。據說戰前在東京灣內每年可以捕獲多達300t鰻魚(東京都島嶼農林水產中心)。
    Roswell先生說「鰻魚是與壽司、蕎麥麵齊名的江戶食物」。「烤鰻魚的烹飪方法形成於江戶時代,此後幾乎沒有什麼變化。許多餐廳都世代傳承著當年的味道和技藝。由於大家一直保留著傳統的技藝與自己特有的調味汁,自然老字號也就越來越多。」
    老字號出品的烤鰻魚的味道關鍵在於世代繼承、不斷完善、越發成熟的調味醬(東京都台東區的「前川」總店/攝影:加藤Take美)
    現在,由於養殖用鰻苗(野生鰻線)遭到濫捕,導致鰻魚資源陷入了危機。2014年6月,日本鰻魚被世界自然保護聯盟(IUCN)發布的「紅色名錄」認定為瀕危物種。近年來,鰻線捕獲量銳減導致鰻魚價格不斷高漲,老字號鰻魚餐廳紛紛停業。
    「雖然漲價是無奈之舉,但鰻魚餐廳一直在盡力避免漲價。大多數餐廳都會貼出寫著『實在非常抱歉……』的告示。價格太高就沒有客人光顧,價格太低又無法維持經營。店家都在這種糾結之中維持著經營。」
    「我也採訪了鰻魚養殖業者,他們的日子似乎比鰻魚餐廳更加難熬。有的索性停業,有的縮小了規模。由於養殖業者和鰻魚餐廳都是專營鰻魚的,所以無法捕獲鰻線即是生死攸關的問題。」

    東西部的鰻魚烤法和味道有所不同

    開始連載後,他的採訪足跡遍及名古屋、大阪、京都、高知(四萬十川)、福岡等地,最北到了青森,品嚐了各地的本土鰻魚。鰻丼(蓋飯)、鰻重(盒飯)自不待言,還吃遍了素烤鰻魚、鰻魚酒、鰻魚火腿、鰻魚蛋捲等各種鰻魚料理,但據說他還是覺得烤鰻魚才是最經典的鰻魚料理。
    「常言道『穿簽練3年,開膛練8年,烤製練一生』,修煉需要花費大量時間,各個烤鰻師傅烹製出的味道也不一樣。在(東京的)池袋有一家店會在吧檯向客人展示鰻魚開膛清理到烤製的全過程,大家可以切身體會到這是一門很不簡單的技藝。」
    Roswell先生介紹說,客人來店後,廚師便開始活剖鰻魚、穿簽、烤製。行雲流水般地完成所有步驟、不浪費一分一秒,這也是鰻魚餐廳的「特技」。
    各個烤鰻師傅烹製的味道自然不同,而不同地區的烤鰻方法其實也有很大差異。比如,關東地區會先進行不加調味料的素烤烹飪,然後放入蒸籠蒸,最後淋上調味醬烘烤,口感軟糯。而關西地區則沒有蒸的步驟,只是塗抹調味醬後烘烤(地烤),口感爽脆。東西部的開膛方法也不同,關東採用「背剖」法,關西採用「腹剖」法。此外,關東地區將鰻魚開膛後,會切掉頭部,分成幾塊用竹籤穿著烘烤,而關西地區不會去頭和切塊,直接將幾條一起穿在金屬簽子上烘烤。
    藤岡椒太郎(《U》的主角)對大阪的烤鰻方法與東京迥然不同而感到驚訝©Roswell Hosoki/講談社

    鰻魚必須在鰻魚餐廳裏細細品嚐

    當然,野生鰻魚的風味會因生長環境而不同。
    Roswell先生稱:「琵琶湖等湖泊的狀態就像是一種魚塘,鰻魚會長得很壯實。野生鰻魚好像無法穿越津輕海峽,青森縣就成了鰻魚生長的最北極限。在青森的下北半島小川原湖內捕獲的鰻魚尤為壯碩,吃起來非常過癮。或許是因為生長環境寒冷,鰻魚需要儲存脂肪吧。」
    而「(高知縣)四萬十川水流湍急,這裏的鰻魚身體緊湊,個頭不會太大。鰻魚的餌食也有影響。在四萬十川內,鰻魚吃河蝦等長大,因此肉質也具有獨特風味。」
    Roswell先生說「世界上有各種鰻魚料理,但沒有任何一種能夠超越烤鰻魚」
    他一面在採訪過程中享用野生鰻魚,一面在漫畫中敘述著各種趣聞,告訴大家牛丼餐廳、便利商店、超市裏售賣的鰻魚等各式各樣的鰻魚也很美味。不過,他表示「自己逐漸改變了想法,隨著鰻線捕撈量銳減,已經不能再說這樣漫不經心的話了」。
    「便利商店的鰻魚便當和牛丼餐廳的鰻丼、超市裏售賣的鰻魚價格高得令人驚訝。去年夏天,超市標出了近2,000日圓的價格。牛丼餐廳的牛丼只要300日圓,而鰻丼卻要800日圓,便利商店的鰻魚便當也是如此,中國產鰻魚要700~800日圓,國產鰻魚價格更是超過了1,000日圓。最近我在想,如果要花這麼多錢,還不如咬咬牙到鰻魚餐廳去吃鰻魚,這樣或許能夠遏制濫捕。」

    並非僅限於夏季「土用丑」日的食物

    據說日本的鰻魚消費量占據了全球的70%。目前,日本、中國、韓國和臺灣都在養殖鰻魚。這4個國家和地區於2014年5月就限制養殖用鰻線數量這一問題達成了共識,並已從11月開始實施。在日本,養殖業者被賦予了上報鰻魚養殖量和出貨量的義務。
    Roswell先生認為「絕對有必要開展旨在保護資源的國際合作」。他強調,雖然形勢嚴峻,但為了保護鰻魚資源和支持鰻魚行業,大家還是應該每年去幾次鰻魚餐廳。
    「在日本,鰻魚僅僅是在夏季土用丑日這一天受到歡迎,媒體會一窩蜂地報道鰻魚話題,但第二天馬上就無人問津了。鰻魚行業一直在宣傳鰻魚並非夏季食物。養殖鰻魚並沒有明確的最佳食用季節,而野生鰻魚則在秋季到初冬期間蓄積營養,這段時間的野生鰻魚吃起來最為肥美。」

    為了盡情享用鰻魚

    Roswell先生認為大家每年也可以去幾次鰻魚餐廳奢侈一下。我們向他討教了如何在店裏大快朵頤的「心得」。
    「根本的一條,最好趁熱抓緊吃。」不過,烤製鰻魚也需要一些時間。「近來也有越來越多鰻魚餐廳為客人準備了日本名酒。這些店裏還配有豐富的(使用鰻魚材料的)下酒小菜。享用了美酒和小菜後就可以扒拉熱騰騰的鰻重了。」
    順便提一句,酒坊、批發商和售酒店等組織的日本名門酒會每年都會評選出「專家推薦的最佳鰻魚佐餐酒」前三名。Roswell先生就是評審員之一。評委們通過品酒後選擇出最適合搭配烤鰻魚的日本酒,據說大分縣的手工釀造純米酒「西關」今年已經連續第9年蟬聯了冠軍。
    Roswell先生還有一項關於鰻魚的「慣例活動」,即出席每年10月26日在京都三島神社舉行的鰻魚法事「大放生祭」。這座神社規模雖小,但歷史卻可追溯到平安時代,鰻魚在這裏被視為神的使者受到崇拜。「參加者主要是西日本的鰻魚業界人士。據說神社的宮司(※3)及其家人世世代代都不吃鰻魚。」
    像這樣一年一度為食入自己腹中的鰻魚做過法事後,Roswell先生又有了另一件樂趣。「那就是在京都的鰻魚餐廳裏品嚐關西風味的爽脆烤鰻魚。因為在東京是吃不到的。」
    (nippon.com編輯部根據2014年10月的採訪內容編輯而成)
    標題圖片:蒸軟後淋上調味醬後烘烤的江戶風味烤鰻魚(東京都臺東區的「前川」總店/攝影:加藤Take美)
    。
     
    (※1)^ 日本稱「蒲燒鰻魚」,將鰻魚去骨後切成適當長度,淋上以醬油為主的佐料,串上竹籤燒烤而成的日式烹製方法。
    (※2)^ 農曆立秋前的18天為夏季的土用丑日,日本人相信鰻魚有改善食慾、增進體力的效果,習慣在這一天吃鰻魚消暑。
    (※3)^ 神社的主神官。

    Monday, March 09, 2015

    Don’t go chasing eel testicles

    Don’t go chasing eel testicles:
    A brief, select history of Sigmund Freud
     
    If you know anything about psychology, you know the name Sigmund Freud.  If you know anything about Sigmund Freud, you know about his theories on the human mind and human development.  If you know anything about one particular theory, his psychosexual theory, you know that you are a repressed sexual being that likely has an unconscious desire to have relations with a mythical Greek King’s mother.  What you may not know, because it’s conceivably ancillary to his greater works, is that it all began in pursuit of 19th century science’s holy grail: “The elusive eel testicles.”
    FreudAlthough it is stated, in some annals, that an Italian scientist named Carlo Mondini discovered the eel testicles in 1777,{1} it is elsewhere stated that the search continued up to, and beyond, an obscure nineteen-year-old Austrian’s 1876 search.  It is also stated, that the heralded Aristotle conducted his own research on the eel that resulted in postulations that these beings either came from the “guts of wet soil”, or that they were born “of nothing”. One could say that such results had to come as a result of great frustration, as Aristotle was so patiently deductive in so many other areas, but he is also the one that stated that maggots were born organically from a slab of meat.  “Others, that conducted their own research, swore that eels were bred of mud, of bodies decaying in the water.  One learned bishop informed the Royal Society that eels slithered from the thatched roofs of cottages; Izaak Walton, in The Compleat Angler, reckoned they sprang from the “action of sunlight on dewdrops”.”{2}
    Before laughing at any of these findings, one has to consider how limited these researchers were, with regard to the science of their day.  As they say with young people, Freud probably didn’t know enough to know how futile this task would be when he was first employed by a nondescript Austrian zoological research station.  It was his first job, he was nineteen-years-old, and it was 1876.  He dissected approximately 400 eels, over a period of four weeks, and he worked in an environment that the New York Times described as “Amid stench and slime for long hours”.{3}  His ambitious goal was to write a breakthrough research paper on the animal’s mating habits that had confounded science for centuries.  One has to imagine that a more seasoned scientist may have considered the task futile much earlier in the process, but an ambitious, young nineteen-year-old, looking to make a name for himself, was willing to spend long hours slicing and dicing these eels, to hopefully achieve an answer that could not be disproved.
    EEL TesticlesUnfortunate for young Freud, and perhaps fortunate for the field of Psychology, we now know that eels don’t have testicles, until they need them.  The ones Freud studied, apparently didn’t need them at the time he studied them, for Freud ended up writing that he had only been supplied with eels “of the fairer sex”.  Freud did, eventually, write a research paper, but it detailed his failure to locate the testicles, and he moved onto other areas as a result.  The question that anyone reading Freud’s later, Psychological theories has to ask, in conjunction with this knowledge, is how profound was this failure on the rest of his research into human sexual development?
    Most of us had odd jobs at nineteen that have, in one way or another, affected us for the rest of our working lives.  For most of us, these jobs were low-paying, manual labor jobs that we slogged through for the sole purpose of getting paid.  Most of us weren’t pining over anything, in search of a legacy that would put us in annals of history. Most of us had no feelings of profound failure if we didn’t do well in these low-paying, manual labor jobs.  Most of us simply moved onto other jobs we found more rewarding and fulfilling.
    Was the search for eel testicles the equivalent to a low-paying, manual labor job to Freud, or did he believe in this vocation so much that he was devastated when he failed?  Did he slice the first hundred or so open and throw them aside with the belief that he simply had another eel of the fairer sex, as he wrote, or was he beginning to see what had plagued the other scientists, including Aristotle, for centuries?  There had to be a moment, in other words, when he began to realize that they couldn’t all be female.  He had to realize, at some point, that he was missing the same something that everyone else had been missing.  He had to have had some sleepless nights struggling to come up with some different tactic. He probably lost his appetite at various points, and he probably shut out the world in his obsession to achieve infamy in marine biology.  If even some of this is true, even if it was only four weeks of his life, it could reasonably be stated that this moment in his life affected him profoundly.
    If Freud had never existed, would there be a need to create him?
    Everyone has a subjective angle from which they approach a topic they wish to study.  It’s human nature.  Few of us can view any subject, or person in our life, with total objectivity.  The topic we are least objective about, say some, is ourselves.  And the topic, on which we theorize most, when we theorize on humanity, is most commonly ourselves.  All theories are autobiographies, in other words, that we write in an attempt to understand ourselves better.  With that in mind, what was the subjective angle from which Sigmund Freud approached his most famous theory on psychosexual development in humans?  Was he entirely objective when listening to his patients, or was he forever chasing eel testicles in the manner Don Quixote chased windmills?
    After switching vocations to the field of Psychology, did he view the patients that sought his consultation as nothing more than the set of testicles he couldn’t find a lifetime ago?  Did testicles prove so prominent in his studies that he saw them everywhere in the manner that a “rare” car owner begins to see that car everywhere, after driving that “rare” car off the lot?  Some would say that if Freud engaged in such activities, he did it unconsciously, which others could say may have been the basis for his other theory on unconscious action.  How different would Freud’s theories have been if he had found eventually found what was then considered the holy grail of science at the time?  How different would his life have been?  Would he have ever switched vocations, or would he have remained a marine biologist based upon the fame he achieved?
    How different would the field of Psychology be, if he had decided to remain a marine biologist?  Or, if he had eventually switched to Psychology, for whatever reason, after achieving fame for being the eel testicle spotter in marine biology, would he have approached the study of the human development, and the human mind, from a less obsessed angle?  Would his theory on psychosexual development have occurred to him at all, and if it didn’t, was it such a fundamental truth that it would’ve eventually occurred, without Freud’s influence?
    It can be said, without too much refutation, that many in the world have had their beliefs of human development more sexualized by Freud’s largely disproved psychosexual theory?  How transcendental was this theory, and how much subjective interpretation was involved, and how much of that interpretation was derived from the frustration involved in his inability to find the eel testicle?  Did Freud spend the rest of his career overcompensating for that initial failure?
    Whether it’s an interpretive extension, or a direct reading of Freud’s theory, modern scientific research theorizes that most men want some form of sexual experience with another man’s testicles, and if they say that don’t, their lying in a latent manner, and the more vociferously a man says they don’t, so goes the theory, the more repressed their homosexual desires are.
    The Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law, a sexual orientation law think tank, released a study in April 2011 that stated that 3.6% of the males in the U.S. population are either openly gay, or bisexual.{4}  This leaves 96.4% of this population that are, according to Freud’s theory, closeted homosexuals in some manner.  Neither Freud, nor anyone else, has put a rough estimate on the percentage of heterosexuals that have erotic inclinations toward members of the same sex that are unconsciously experienced or expression in overt ways, but the very idea of the theory has achieved worldwide fame.  Read through some psychological studies on this subject, and you’ll read the words: “It is possible..,” “certain figures show that it would indicate..,” and “all findings can and should be evaluated by further research”.{5}  In other words, no conclusive data, and all figures are vague, purposely say some, for use by those that are in favor of the homosexual movement that would have you believe that most of the 96.4% that express contrarian views are actively suppressing their desire to not only support the view, but to actively involve themselves in the movement.
    Sigmund Freud has been called “history’s most debunked doctor”, but his influence can still be seen in the field of Psychology, and in the ways society views human development, and sexual development, throughout the world.  The greater question, as it pertains specifically to Freud’s psychosexual theory, is was he a closet homosexual, or was his angle on psychological research affected by the initial failure to find eel testicles?  Or, to put it more succinctly, which being’s testicles was Freud more obsessed with throughout his life?