God’s Will and the Ocean: Episode 24

God’s Will and the Ocean
True Father Speaks on: The Founding of Ocean Church, page 69-72
October 1, 1980, Morning Garden

The Ocean Church Mission

The reason I called the seminary graduates is because I want you to become leaders for each of the thirty centers. You are the ones to become regular fishermen. You are the ones that have to educate fishermen. You have to teach them Divine Principle and Victory Over Communism, and eventually Unification Thought. You have to educate them so they understand God's will and purpose. That is how you will equip them to enter into the future. Otherwise, they will decline into the past. 

You have to be able to teach them from the very beginning. Perhaps, I will get a helicopter and visit all the boats. I will let you know when I am coming. Maybe I will meet you out on the ocean and eat lunch with you. Isn't that a wonderful idea? We can eat the fresh fish that you just caught. Wouldn't you like that? Now you know why I called you. If you really implement this plan, don't you think the Unification Church will grow? We will have 300 churches very soon from the original thirty centers.

Imagine driving this Good Go, this fast and beautiful boat. It is unsinkable. It does not sink because it is foam-filled. It takes water up to the brim and still stays afloat. When there is a big storm, it will not sink. As long as you have a life-line you can tie yourself to it and you will be alright. Maybe the fish will die from the storm, but you won't. It's a sport boat, but it is also a safe boat.

Later on, we will build similar boats for the commercial market. If you want, you can become a sales representative and sell those boats. This will also help your economic foundation. Look at it this way. If you become rich, then the Unification Church will become rich. However, if you sell that boat and donate the money to Africa, it's even better. Would you say "no" or "yes" to this idea? Then, who profits if you are successful? Success can be a very good thing, if you are willing to invest it in others. This is why I want to train you. It is your job to make these thirty centers a success. If you do that, the initial investment will not be lost. If you extend your success to others, it will never be lost.

The Role of America and Japan

When you talk about the fishing business in general, you cannot leave the Japanese out of it. The reason is this: the way they process fish and sort it out; the way they package fish and sell it. No one can even come close to Japan in these areas. Japan is truly envious of the fishing grounds in America. They cannot get along without fish; they must have fish in their diet. They cannot catch enough in their own waters, so they are dying to have a connection with the fishing grounds here in America.

America is aware of that too. The American fisheries would never continue without the market that exists in Japan. They have so much fish, but where are they going to send it? American people simply don't eat that much fish. However, thanks to the Japanese almost every bit of fish that is caught here is bought (by the Japanese) at a reasonable price.

However, the Japanese are almost over-extended now. There are no large Japanese companies working here in America without some support from Japan. The Americans don't want the Japanese to go beyond what they can handle, because the American companies want to continue to sell to Japan, and the American government understands this. Today, some Japanese companies are buying the fish in America and then selling the fish to another company in Japan. 

The American companies are saying, "Let us buy the fish from our own fishing grounds and sell them to you in Japan. You go back to Japan and buy from us there." They would much rather do that. Japan is looking for, and needs a company here which is American, but focused upon the Japanese market. They want to be able to trust that company fully and know that it would sell the fish to Japan. It is just like the American companies in Japan. They have Japanese representatives there, but in essence the company is always considering the American market. So then, how shall we meet that qualification? All the American members married to Japanese spouses will form a company. Which is it, an American company or a Japanese company? Well, it is an American company. The Japanese can look at it, however, and feel quite confident that it is also a Japanese company. Then, the Japanese will want to invest in this company. This is truly possible and is quite practical, isn't it? We will prove this out.

We will even let Middle East entrepreneurs invest their oil dollars in this effort. The desert countries have never invested very much in fishing because many of them don't have coastal waters, or their fishing grounds are not so good. They drill for oil and live off of that, not fishing. However, when they start to eat fish, they will find out how good it is for their appetite and their health. From that point, we should try to develop a good relationship with them. Then, there will be a boom effect. Good things could happen. New international relationships could be built.

Think about yourself. Where are you going to be ten years from now if you invest yourself and work towards this goal? You will have security for your family. There are already large Japanese companies working very strongly here in America, but we will have our own sales network here in America, as well as back in Japan. When we have a good wholesale and retail net, we can move forward with confidence.

We cannot use other wholesalers because they will just pay us the cheapest price, and then make the most money by increasing the price to the consumer. That is why fish is close to $2.00 or more per pound once it gets to the consumer's table. We have to make our own foundation, from catching fish to processing it to retailing it. Actually, we should eliminate the need for the middle man. This just adds extra cost to the consumer. Why should the people pay for a wholesaler if the fish can come directly from the processor to the retailer? This is where we can truly make an impact on the market and everyone will benefit. Even though we have such a plan, there are problems. Fish resources will be depleted by overfishing in some areas, especially certain fish which are already popular as table fish. These species, like the striped bass, which are already very expensive, won't be available anymore. If too many are caught, the supply will be exhausted. For that reason, we have to go into fish farming; we have to go into it as soon as possible. The tuna is one example. They lay close to a million eggs. However, out of a million eggs, only two or three fish will ever get to full size, over 600 pounds. We have to devise a way to hatch those eggs and protect them. Look at the salmon. They have been coming back, largely due to salmon hatcheries. We have to make a plan to do the same for the tuna. If you can hatch and protect them to a certain size and then let it go into the water, there will be a tremendous increase in the amount of tuna available.

Tuna is an excellent source of protein for human consumption. One tuna has more meat than two or three cows. However, no one has been thinking about that. Instead of letting cows eat up all the grain, people could eat that grain. Why not catch tunas instead? It is a much healthier protein to eat as well.