Coastal Area 14802 Central and northern coast of Okinawajima Island

Basic Information References

Reason(s) for selection Criteria

Characteristics References

These waters extend from the Kunisaki Peninsula on the west side of Okinawa Island and Iejima Island along the Yanbaru Coast in the north to Kin Bay on the east coast. The coast of the sea extending in front of Sesoko Island is home to sea grass and seaweed beds where Halophila ovalis and Halophila minor (Halophila decipiens) grow, and the coral reefs around Minna Island are fringing reefs with a high level of diversity of species. In the vicinity of Yagaji-jima, including the Haneji Inlet, are sea grass and seaweed beds, tidal mud flats, and mangrove forests. This mangrove forest ecosystem is highly diverse, with Kandelia obovata and black mangrove growing here (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). The Haneji Inlet is home to highly diverse rare conch species, including the only habitat in Japan for Azorinus scheepmakeri and the only habitat in the world for Ditiropisena sp. (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). The endangered species dugong has been confirmed to live here as well (Ministry of the Environment, 2006). The Yagaji area also is a breeding ground for roseate tern and black-naped tern. Snipe and plover also visit here. On the east coast, mangrove forests have developed in the vicinity of Kesaji, in Oura Bay, and in the areas of the mouths of the Kinbaru and Okukubi rivers, where Kandelia obovata, black mangrove, and Rhizophora mucronata grow. The Kesaji mangrove forest is home to four new species of brackish-water Alpheus brevicristatus and numerous species of fish including Periophthalmus argentilineatus, mudskippers, and others. Living in the mangrove forests of Oura Bay are numerous turreted nerite, Nerita undata, Angustassiminea sp., カタシイノミミガイ, Platyvindex sp. and others. The east coast of Okinawa Island from Henoko to Kanna is lined by a series of coral-reef waters and sea grass and seaweed beds, with large communities of Syringodium isoetifolium, Cymodocea serrulata, Cymodocea rotundata and others, and dugong are sited in these waters frequently. The seaweed beds unfolding off the northeast coast of Okinawa Island are green turtle feeding grounds. There also are expansive sea grass and seaweed beds in Nakagusuku Bay, where dugong also have been confirmed to live (Ministry of the Environment, 2001; Ministry of the Environment, 2006 ). In Kin Bay a soft bottom environment has developed from the sandy sea floor to the muddy floor, where diverse fish populations including numerous unique fish, centered on gobies, are being identified (Suzuki et al, 1996; Suzuki et al, 1999; Suzuki et al, 2011).