MOE home > Nature and Parks > EBSA home > Coastal Area > 14803 Central and southern coast of Okinawajima Island
Relevant municipalities | Uruma, Okinawa, Itoman, Nishihara, Nakagusuku, Naha, Nanjo, Yaese, Tomigusuku, Kitanakagusuku, Okinawa Prefecture |
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Area (km2) | 514 |
Selected due to high levels for the criteria 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8, and selected by MARXAN software.
These waters extend from the Katsuren Peninsula in the central-southern area of Okinawa Island (including Henza Island, Miyagi Island, and southern Ikei island) through the southern tip of Okinawa Island to the mouth of the Kokuba River (the Port of Naha). Seaweed beds unfold off the coast in the vicinity of Yabuchi-jima Island, the largest habitat for Sargassum fulvellum and Pseudodichotomosiphon constricta. Tidal mud flats, seaweed beds, and sea grass beds can be seen widely across Nakagusuku Bay. In the northern part of Nakagusuku Bay (off the coasts of Awase, Kuba and other areas) grow eight species of sea grass including Thalassia hemprichii, Cymodocea serrulata, Cymodocea rotundata, and others. Another distinguishing feature of these waters is the fact that Armatocillenus yokohamae, Halovelia septentrionalis and other insects inhabit them. They also are the only habitat in Japan for Scartelaos histophorus and Acentrogobius and the southern limit of distribution of mudskipper and Masago goby in Japan. Awase, the only habitat in Japan for Macrophthalms quadratus, in particular has an abundance of rare shellfish. In the seaweed beds of southern Nakagusuku Bay grow Sargassum fusiforme (southern limit), Sargassum ilicifolium var. conduplicatum, Ulva conglobata, Gelidium pusillium, and others. Both the Awase tidal mud flats and the Sashiki tidal mud flats are visited by snipe and plover, with relatively high numbers of species and populations during the migration seasons of spring and fall. The tidal mud flats of sand and mud that extend from the town of Sashiki in the south of Nakagusuku Bay to the town of Yonabaru are inhabited by Scartelaos histophorus and fiddler crab (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). As in Kin Bay, in Nakagusuku Bay diverse fish populations including numerous unique fish, centered on gobies, are also being identified (Suzuki et al., 1996; Suzuki et al., 1999; Suzuki et al., 2011). The Gushi tidal mud flats also welcome relatively high numbers of species and populations of snipe and plover visiting during the migration seasons of spring and fall and wintering here, and at least 0.25% of the grey-tailed tattler's minimum estimated population has been recorded here. In the intertidal zone of the reef belt extending from the Gushi tidal mud flats to Omine Cape live Armatocillenus yokohamae. The Yone tidal mud flats are home to numerous Ephippodonta gigas, Auriculodes opportunatum, Serratina capsoides and other rare species (Ministry of the Environment, 2001).
Tidal mud flats (km2) | 8.1 |
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Moba (seaweed bed) (km2) | 5.4 |
Coral reef coverage (km2) | 17.5 |
Natural coast (km) | 63.1 |
Rate of natural coast (%) | 31.8 |
Sand bank / submerged sand bank | |
Other habitats |
Criteria 1 |
<Mamal> |
Dugong dugon (Dugong ) |
<Aves> |
Platalea minor (Black-faced Spoonbill) |
<Crustacea> |
Uca arcuata |
Tmethypocoelis choreutes |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Assimineidae gen. sp. |
Cyclina sinensis |
Angustassiminea castanea |
Platevindex sp. |
Cassidula plecotrematoides japonica |
Litigiella pacifica |
Criteria 2 |
<Mamal> |
Megaptera novaeangliae (Humpback whale) |
Dugong dugon (Dugong ) |
<Aves> |
Monticola solitarius (Blue Rock-thrush)[Br/Ne] |
Sterna sumatrana (Black-naped Tern) |
Sterna sumatrana (Black-naped Tern)[Br/Ne] |
Egretta sacra (Pacific Reef-egret)[Br/Ne] |
Chlidonias hybrida (Whiskered Tern) |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern) |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern)[Br/Ne] |
Charadrius dubius (Little Ringed Plover)[Br/Ne] |
Charadrius alexandrinus (Kentish Plover)[Br/Ne] |
Sterna dougallii (Roseate Tern) |
Sterna dougallii (Roseate Tern)[Br/Ne] |
Criteria 3 |
<Mamal> |
Dugong dugon (Dugong ) |
<Aves> |
Sterna sumatrana (Black-naped Tern) |
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern) |
Sterna dougallii (Roseate Tern) |
<Reptilia> |
Emydocephalus ijimae (Ijima's Sea Snake) |
Laticauda semifasciata (Chinese Sea Snake) |
Laticauda laticaudata (Brown-lipped Sea Krait) |
<Pisces> |
Rhincodon typus |
Acentrogobius viridipunctatus (Spotted green goby) |
Scartelaos histophorus (Walking goby) |
<Crustacea> |
Parasesarma plicatum |
Libystes villosus |
Uca arcuata |
Uca boninensis |
Thalassograpsus harpax |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Serratina diaphana |
Batillaria zonalis |
Melampus sp. |
Cyclina sinensis |
Cerithideopsilla djadjariensis |
Laemodonta siamensis |
Ellobium incrassatum |
Onchidium sp. |
Salpocola philippinensis |
Tellinides timorensis |
Stenothyra japonica |
<Hexacorallia> |
Acropora acuminata |
Galaxea astreata |
Heliopora coerulea |
Montipora cactus |
Pachyseris rugosa |
Pavona cactus |
<Algae> |
Caulerpa taxifolia |
Cymopolia vanbosseae |
Sargassum pinnatifidum |
Pseudodichotomosiphon constrictus |
Acetabularia caliculus |
Criteria 4 |
<Mamal> |
Dugong dugon (Dugong ) |
<Octocorallia> |
Isis hippuris |
Junceella fragilis |
Pseudobebryce acanthoides |
Subergorgia suberosa |
Criteria 7 |
<Crustacea> |
Uca arcuata |
<Bivalva, Gastropoda> |
Serratina diaphana |
Batillaria zonalis |
Anodontia edentula |
Circe undatina |
Pinna bicolor |
Neripteron sp. |
Cerithidea rhizophorarum |
Cerithideopsilla cingulata |
Truncatella pfeifferi |
<Vascular Plants> |
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