Regional Fish Institute, Ltd.

Regional Fish Institute, Ltd. (リージョナルフィッシュ株式会社) is a Japanese startup founded in April 2019 that develops next-generation aquaculture systems. It was born out of joint research between Kyoto University and Kindai University, combining expertise in fish genome editing and complete aquaculture. The company uses deletion-type genome editing to accelerate selective breeding of fish, and it also builds smart land-based aquaculture systems that use AI and IoT to automate and optimize fish farming. The company's mission is to supply the fish that the planet and humanity need now, by improving aquaculture productivity and sustainability. It aims to shorten the traditional breeding process from around 30 years to just two or three years, and to develop breeds suited to higher water temperatures and changing market needs. Its business spans the development of new fish breeds, production and sale of seedlings, implementation of smart aquaculture, and direct farming and sale of genome-edited seafood. Regional Fish Institute operates an e-commerce site called Regional Fish Online, launched in December 2021, and has supplied genome-edited fish to local governments for hometown tax programs. It has received recognition including being named to Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list in 2021 and winning the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 2021 Academic Startups awards. In 2023 it established a joint venture with NTT called NTT Green & Food Corporation. The company is headquartered in Kyoto, with offices at Kyoto University's facilities. Its representative director and president is Tadanori Umekawa, a co-founder who previously worked at Deloitte Tohmatsu Consulting and the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. The CTO is Masato Kinoshita, a co-founder and associate professor at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Agriculture, known as a leading expert in fish genome editing. As of the official website, the company has 210 employees including group companies, and capital of 100 million yen.

Regional Fish Institute was established on April 10, 2019, as a startup originating from Kyoto University and Kindai University. Its founding was based on joint research between Masato Kinoshita, an associate professor at Kyoto University's Graduate School of Agriculture specializing in fish genome editing, and Keitaro Kato, a professor at Kindai University's Fisheries Laboratory specializing in complete aquaculture. The company was created to commercialize genome editing and smart aquaculture technologies for the fisheries industry. In 2021, the company launched a research project for the practical application of genome editing technology. It was selected for Forbes Asia's 100 to Watch list and received the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Award at the 2021 Academic Startups awards. In December 2021, it opened its e-commerce site, Regional Fish Online, and began offering genome-edited fish through Miyazu City's hometown tax program. It also won the top prize at the 1st Regional Contribution Startup Innovation Awards. In May 2022, the company opened a Tokyo office. It was selected for the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's 2022 Growth-oriented Small and Medium Enterprise Research and Development Support Project and won the Beyond Sustainability 2022 award in the environmental category. On June 27, 2023, it established a joint venture with NTT called NTT Green & Food Corporation. The company continues to develop genome-edited fish breeds and smart aquaculture systems, aiming to revitalize Japan's fisheries industry and contribute to global protein supply.

• Company founded

• Launched genome editing technology practical application research

• Selected for Forbes Asia 100 to Watch

• Won METI Award at Academic Startups 2021

• Opened Regional Fish Online e-commerce site

• Started offering in Miyazu City hometown tax program

• Won top prize at 1st Regional Contribution Startup Innovation Awards

• Opened Tokyo office

• Selected for METI 2022 Growth-oriented SME R&D Support Project

• Won Beyond Sustainability 2022 environmental category award

• Established joint venture NTT Green & Food Corporation with NTT

A research-driven aquaculture technology startup using genome editing and smart farming to revitalize Japan's fisheries industry.

• Genome-edited fish breeds

  Fish breeds developed using deletion-type genome editing to improve traits such as growth and temperature tolerance.

• Smart land-based aquaculture systems

  AI and IoT-based systems for automated, labor-saving aquaculture.

• Regional Fish Online

  E-commerce platform for selling genome-edited seafood directly to consumers.

1. 1リージョナルフィッシュ株式会社｜いま地球に、いま人類に、必要な魚を。regional.fish
2. 2Regional Fish Institute - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3リージョナルフィッシュ - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org