Coastal Area 14601 Adjacent waters of Southwestern Amami Oshima Island

Basic Information References

Reason(s) for selection Criteria

Characteristics References

These waters include southwestern Amami Oshima Island, Kakeromajima Island, Ukejima Island, and Yoroshima Island. The sandy beaches of Katoku on Amami Oshima are the island's sole sandy shore not fringed by coral reefs, and habitat to distinctive shellfish such as Kyushu coquina shells, Dosinia juvenilis, and others. These sandy beaches constitute a coastline in a highly natural state, with no artificial shore protection construction. In the area of the mouth of the Katoku River schools of flat-headed goby, Sicyopus leprurus and other unique fish can be seen as well. In addition, this area also is important as a feeding ground for green turtles, interspersed with green turtle spawning grounds. In inner Kuji Bay a tidal mud flat environment in a highly natural state remains, connecting land and sea, and here is habitat for Pitar sulfureum, Semele zebuensis, Psammotaea elongata, Upogebia carinicauda, their parasite Peregrinamor gastrochaenans, and others. Numerous endangered species, including Ellobium chinense, Nerita albicilla, Microtaralia acuteocinoides, and others live in the high-tide zone (Kato, personal communication). While the Oshima Strait between Amami Oshima and Kakeromajima Island is only 2-6 km wide, since its waters are more than 50 m deep it is an inlet into which the Kuroshio Current branches, distinguished by the formation of inland sea coral reefs near its mouth. The coastline of Kakeromajima Island has little shore-protection work and other artificial structures, and in its tidal mud flats Psammotaea elongata, Asaphis violascens, Gari squamosa, Semele zebuensis, Pitar sulfureum, Bonartemis histrio, Pitar pellucidum, Tapes literatus, Ruditapes variegata, Gafrarium tumidum and others can be seen. Upogebia carinicauda, recorded only on Amami Oshima, is prolific here. A number of tidal mud flats creatures are known to be endemic to Amami (Kato, 2006). These waters also are an important green turtle feeding ground, interspersed with green turtle spawning grounds (Mizuno, 2013a; 2013b; Kamezaki, 1991).