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Coastal Area 16502 Nanao Bay and southern Toyama Bay

Basic Information A separate window opensReferences

Relevant municipalities Anamizu, Nanao, Ishikawa Prefecture; Namerikawa, Uozu, Takaoka, Kurobe, Imizu, Himi, Toyama, Toyama Prefecture
Area (km2) 468

Reason(s) for selection A separate window opensCriteria

Selected due to high levels for the criteria 2 and 5, and selected by MARXAN software.

Characteristics A separate window opensReferences

These waters include Nanao Bay and Toyama Bay. Inner Nanao Bay is home to massive eel grass beds where numerous Zostera caespitosa are distributed, and other species inhabiting these waters include Halophila ovalis, Sargassum trichophyllum (this is its northern limit; another region where it is distributed is in several locations in the Seto Inland Sea), Sargassum pallidum (southern limit), Coccophora langsdorfii, Chorda rigida (southern limit), Acetabularia calyculus and others. Also living here are benthic organisms such as many-formed cerith, Batillaria attramentaria, Batillaria zonalis, and others (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). Nanao Bay also is an important spawning ground for Pacific cod, Heterololigo bleekeri, Japanese halfbeak, and others (Tsuji et al., 2010; Japan Sea National Fisheries Research Institute, Japan Fisheries Research and Education Agency, 2004; Fujita and Horita, 1998). Off the coast of Toyama Bay unfold seaweed beds in which rare species are distributed. The seaweed beds in western Toyama Bay are habitat for Sargassum pallidum (Ministry of the Environment, 2001). In addition, in the inner reaches of Toyama Bay numbers of benthos and their index of diversity are relatively high (Tsujimoto et al., 2006). These also are spawning grounds for bastard halibut, Heterololigo bleekeri, and others, and the whole of Toyama Bay serves as a firefly squid spawning grounds (Hayashi, 1989; Uehara et al., 2012).

Environment / Habitat infromation A separate window opensData source

Tidal mud flats (km2)
Moba (seaweed bed) (km2) 66.8
Coral reef coverage (km2)
Natural coast (km) 60.6
Rate of natural coast (%) 17.4
Sand bank / submerged sand bank
Other habitats

Species information (*) A separate window opensData source

Criteria 1
<Pisces>
Cottus kazika (Fourspine sculpin)
<Vascular Plants>
Zostera caespitosa
Criteria 2
<Aves>
Sterna hirundo (Common Tern)
Sterna hirundo (Common Tern)[Br/Ne]
Monticola solitarius (Blue Rock-thrush)[Br/Ne]
Larus crassirostris (Black-tailed Gull)
Larus crassirostris (Black-tailed Gull)[Br/Ne]
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern)
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern)[Br/Ne]
Charadrius dubius (Little Ringed Plover)[Br/Ne]
Charadrius alexandrinus (Kentish Plover)[Br/Ne]
Larus argentatus (European Herring Gull)
Pandion haliaetus (Osprey)[Br/Ne]
Larus ridibundus (Black-headed Gull)
<Pisces>
Etrumeus teres (Red-eye round herring)[Sp]
Engraulis japonicus (Japanese anchovy)[Sp]
Sebastes schlegelii (Korean rockfish)[Sp]
Hyporhamphus sajori (Japanese halfbeak)[Sp]
Takifugu rubripes (Japanese pufferfish)[Sp]
Glossanodon semifasciatus (Deep-sea smelt)[Sp]
Trachurus japonicus (Japanese jack mackerel)[Sp]
Sardinops melanostictus (Japanese pilchard)[Sp]
<Cephalopoda>
Watasenia scintillans (Firefly squid )
Octopus vulgaris (Common octopus)
Loligo bleekeri (Spear squid)
Criteria 3
<Aves>
Podiceps cristatus (Great Crested Grebe)
Sterna albifrons (Little Tern)
<Pisces>
Cottus kazika (Fourspine sculpin)
Lethenteron japonicum (Japanese lamprey)
Cottus hangiongensis
Leucopsarion petersii (Ice goby )
Gastersosteus aculeatus aculeatus (Three-spined stickleback)
<Crustacea>
Chiromantes haematocheir
Helice (Helice) tridens
<Bivalva, Gastropoda>
Batillaria zonalis
Stenothyra japonica
Criteria 7
<Pisces>
Lethenteron japonicum (Japanese lamprey)
Luciogobius guttatus (Flat-headed goby)
Gastersosteus aculeatus aculeatus (Three-spined stickleback)
<Bivalva, Gastropoda>
Batillaria zonalis
<Vascular Plants>
Zostera marina (Eel grass)
Carex rugulosa
Zostera japonica
Criteria 8
<Special Natural Monuments>
Firefly squid (Watasenia scintillans) sea surface group <hotaruika-gun yƫkaimen (in Japanese)>

* 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

 

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