Nagaaki Sato, born in Jan, 1969, from Minamisanriku-cho (former Shizugawa-cho) Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi Prefecture.
In 1992, Sato-san encountered scuba diving at the age of 23, and began underwater photography from the following year.
Discovering rare species inhabiting the Minamisanriku Coast became an opportunity to work on biosphere research.
After 8 years of training, he established the diving service Grunt Sculpin in 2000. As a local based diving service, he has been introducing the sea of Miyagi widely and domestically, it was unknown as a diving spot until then. In 2005, he successfully realized opening a new diving spot in cooperation with Shizugawa Fishery Corporative and Minamisanriku-cho. He is a Northern Sea evangelist who spreads the fun of ecological observation and photography through his own high quality photographs.
Minamisanriku Shizugawa is located on the Pacific Ocean side in the Tohoku region, almost in the middle of Minamisanriku Kinkasan Quasi-National Park. For a long time the offshore area has won fame as a great fishing ground where the cold Oyashio and the warm Kuroshio currents cross. The characteristic of Shizugawa Bay is a shallow expanse that is unusual as a rias coast. Creatures have been repeating their cycles of life in such a sea throughout the year. What he keeps in mind during field activities is to feel the seasons and read the sea. He is sure that understanding biological chains must multiply the fun of the sea. Since June 2013, he has been dedicating himself in Hakodate, the same type of sea where the cold Oyashio current and the warm Tsugaru Strait cross. This is due to influences from the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011.
Diving Service Grunt Sculpin
http://www.gruntsculpin.com/
The shop name Grunt Sculpin comes from the English name for the small fish with the Japanese name Kuchibashi Kajika. The direct translation is ‘Grunt=picking, complaining’ Sculpin. They are a rare species that can only be observed in a vey limited water area in the world. Meeting these little fish that are only 7cm (2.75 in) long connected him to people and encounters, and has also become a trigger for him to start the service.
