Coastal Area 15804 Adjacent waters of Ozuki tidal flats and Asagawa River mouth

Basic Information References

Reason(s) for selection Criteria

Characteristics References

These waters extend from the Ozuki tidal mud flats in the area of the Koya River mouth to the area of the Asagawa River mouth. The Ozuki tidal mud flats and nearby waters are a habitat and breeding ground for small-scale whiting (Shigeta and Usuki, 2011; Shigeta et al., 2013a), a habitat and breeding ground for Tridentiger barbatus (Shigeta et al., 2013b) and Japanese horseshoe crab, and a habitat for Platyvindex sp. (Japanese Association of Benthology, eds., 2012) and Asian clams as well. The Ozuki tidal mud flats are the second largest tidal mud flats in the Suonada Sea, after the Nakatsu tidal mud flats of Oita Prefecture. The area of the Asagawa River mouth is home to an abundance of species that are rare nationwide, including Cerithidea ornata, Cerithidea largillierti, Iravadia sakaguchii, Platyvindex sp. and others, and visited by Saunders’ gull as well (Ministry of the Environment, 2001).