An example of successful industry-academia-government cooperation in Hokkaido is the Hakodate Marine Bio-Industrial Cluster project focusing on northern mega-benthos(kelps and invertebrates). Gagome Kombu(Saccharina sculpera)occurs mainly along the coast in and near Hakodate in southern Hokkaido. This species is perennial and commonly found growing on rocks at 8-25 m depth, but also occurs shallower. Its blade can reach 1.5-3 m in length and 0.2-0.5 m in width. The name gagome came from the concave and convex Ryumon patterns on the surface of the blade. Gagome is rich in mucilage(water-soluble polysaccharides, such as alginic acid, fucoidan and laminaran). Its sticky texture comes from polysaccharides, which are known for their health benefits(e.g., slowing blood glucose absorption, promoting the discharge of sodium from the human body, improving intestinal health, enhancing the immune system, moisturizing and regenerating the skin). Gagome also contains about two-times more fucoidan than other kelps(e.g., S. japonica, Costaria costata and Alaria crassifolia). This project has shown that the ocean around Hakodate is a highly productive system from which valuable bioresources can be developed using integrated technologies.
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