MOE home > Nature and Parks > EBSA home > Coastal Area > 14301 Adjacent waters of Cape Toi, Shibushi Bay
Relevant municipalities | Kushima, Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture; Kimotsuki, Shibushi, Osaki, Higashikushira, Kagoshima Prefecture |
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Area (km2) | 290 |
Selected by MARXAN software.
These waters extend from the vicinity of Sakaematsu and Oshima Island in the city of Nichinan, Miyazaki Prefecture to Shibushi Bay. The coast of the sea extending in front of Sakaematsu is the southern limit of perennial eel grass. The seaweed beds off the coast in the vicinity of Cape Toi are dominated by Sargassum nipponicum (Report of the Miyazaki Prefectural Fisheries Research Institute, 2013). These are valuable Sargassum beds in light of the marked disappearance of seaweed beds from southern Kyushu. In the river-mouth tidal mud flats from the mouth of the Honjo River to the mouth of the Chino River live diverse halophytes in addition to Stenomelania rufescens, Psammotaea minor, Cerithidea rhizophorarum and other rare species (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). In addition, the shallow sea (up to 100 m deep) from Cape Toi to Shibushi Bay constitutes the only waters on the Pacific coast where subtropical continental relict fish (like those seen on the coast of the South China Sea) can be seen. Shibushi Bay also is home to thriving, highly productive fishing activity. In the area of the mouth of Shibushi Bay, home to river-mouth tidal mud flats, fiddler crab and Uca lactea lacteal are prolific. This also is a healthy habitat for common Orient clam, native to Japan (Ministry of the Environment, 2001).
Tidal mud flats (km2) | 0.4 |
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Moba (seaweed bed) (km2) | 6.5 |
Coral reef coverage (km2) | 3.8 |
Natural coast (km) | 135.4 |
Rate of natural coast (%) | 64.5 |
Sand bank / submerged sand bank | |
Other habitats |
Criteria 1 |
<Pisces> |
Lates japonicus (Japanese lates) |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Stenomelania rufescens |
Criteria 2 |
<Aves> |
Apus pacificus (Pacific Swift)[Br/Ne] |
Monticola solitarius (Blue Rock-thrush)[Br/Ne] |
Egretta sacra (Pacific Reef-egret)[Br/Ne] |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern) |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern)[Br/Ne] |
Charadrius dubius (Little Ringed Plover)[Br/Ne] |
Charadrius alexandrinus (Kentish Plover)[Br/Ne] |
Pandion haliaetus (Osprey)[Br/Ne] |
<Reptilia> |
Caretta caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) |
<Pisces> |
Parapristipoma trilineatum (Chicken grunt)[Sp] |
Engraulis japonicus (Japanese anchovy)[Sp] |
Paralichthys olivaceus (Bastard halibut)[Sp] |
Seriola quinqueradiata (Japanese amberjack)[Sp] |
Trachurus japonicus (Japanese jack mackerel)[Sp] |
Sardinops melanostictus (Japanese pilchard)[Sp] |
<Cephalopoda> |
Sepioteuthis lessoniana (Bigfin Reef Squid) |
Criteria 3 |
<Aves> |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern) |
<Pisces> |
Lates japonicus (Japanese lates) |
<Insecta> |
Cicindela anchoralis |
<Crustacea> |
Chiromantes haematocheir |
Helice (Helice) tridens |
Deiratonotus cristatus |
Parasesarma plicatum |
Uca arcuata |
Ilyoplax pusilla |
Uca lactea |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Stenomelania rufescens |
<Algae> |
Caulerpa parvifolia |
Criteria 7 |
<Reptilia> |
Caretta caretta (Loggerhead Turtle) |
<Crustacea> |
Uca arcuata |
Uca lactea |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Clithon sowerbianus |
Stenomelania rufescens |
Cerithidea rhizophorarum |
Cerithideopsilla cingulata |
<Vascular Plants> |
Zostera marina (Eel grass) |
Halophila ovalis |
Zostera japonica |
* This is the species list of which meet the criteria. In that matter, this list does not include all species that inhabit the individual area.
Abbreviation in the information is as follows.
[Br/Ne] : Adjacent water of breeding area or nesting site
[Sp] : spawning area
[Ad] : species not used for analysis but add to the list because inhabit information was collected later
[Ex] : species used for analysis but considered to be possibly extinct in the EBSA region (area)
No mark : data of species distribution