NAGAOKA/NIIGATA, Japan -- Japanese exports of expensive ornamental carp are increasing. Nishikigoi (brocaded carp), also known as koi, are beautiful and graceful, and are considered auspicious fish in Asia. They are increasingly popular in China and elsewhere in the world, and prices sometimes reach millions of yen apiece.
In Niigata Prefecture, koi breeders are using their ingenuity to ensure that the "swimming jewels" are transported safely and efficiently, and a research laboratory is making efforts to develop new technologies to raise the efficiency of transportation of the fish and protect them from disease.
