Coastal Area 10601 Adjacent waters of Etorofu Is.

Basic Information References

Reason(s) for selection Criteria

Characteristics References

The waters off Etorofu Island are in a highly natural state and home to many creatures. Moekeshi Bay on the Okhotsk side is a habitat for numerous birds, including tufted puffin and others. The waters from Moekeshi Bay to Naibo Bay also can be considered important waters to sea otter. Cape Rikoruda on the south tip of Etorofu Island is the site of a non-breeding ground, where groups of Steller sea lions come ashore. While common seals can be seen at Etorofu Island, unlike Kunashiri, few spotted seals are seen here. In addition, fur seals have been observed off the coast of Notsuka-zaki Cape (Northern four islands (Northern Territories) expert exchanges committee of marine mammal and sea birds, 2000). Among whales, Minke whale and Dall's porpoise are common in the shore zone, and the Pacific white-sided dolphin, harbor porpoise, and killer whale can be seen here as well. On the Okhotsk side, in waters 500 m or more in depth, sperm whales can be seen (Hokkaido Northern Four Islands (Northern Territories) Study Group and Institute of Cetacean Research, 2001; 2002). North Pacific bottlenose whales and humpback whales also have been confirmed here. A distinguishing feature of these waters is that their seabird population is dominated at least 90% by shearwater species (with the short-tailed shearwater being the most common) (Hokkaido Northern Four Islands (Northern Territories) Study Group and Institute of Cetacean Research, 2001). The shore zone on the Pacific side is dominated by spectacled guillemot, pigeon guillemot, and cormorant, while fulmar are distributed offshore, centered on the Etorofu Strait at the western tip, and auks, Rhinoceros auklets, and tufted puffins are distributed here as well (Hokkaido Northern Four Islands (Northern Territories) Study Group and Institute of Cetacean Research, 2002). The rivers also are in a highly natural state, home to abundant Dolly Varden, sockeye salmon, and others, while the shore zone is home to highly productive seaweed beds with high levels of biodiversity (Sakurai, personal communication).