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4.Opinion Statement regarding Large-scale Mechanical Transplantation at
Awase Tidal Flat
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Keiko Aioi, PhD.
Lecturer, Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College
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I would like to give my opinion regarding the Cabinet Office’s Okinawa Development Council’s “Plan Showing Location and View of Collection in Collection Boxes and Transplanting of Seagrass of the Awase Seagrass Transplantation Experiment,” using also as reference a photograph, apparently of a soil dump site, supposed to be the transplanting site.
(1) It appears that mechanical transplanting methods in exact accordance with transplanting manuals and work plans designed for transplanting sod in soccer and baseballs stadiums are being utilized at Awase tidal flat. No measures or devices are being used to prevent sand around seagrass roots from being washed away, as are described also in Guidelines published by the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). That is, the environmental factors attendant on the area as a tidal flat, such as large volumes of sea water flowing in and out twice daily with the rising and falling of the tide, have been completely ignored.
(2) To apply methods for transplanting sod, which has been bred so that large quantities of seedlings can be raised in a factory-like process, without modification to a wild species (NB: Japan’s species of tropical seagrass are listed as VU or NT in the Red Data Book) indicates a level of technology that calls into doubt whether Japan really is a technologically developed country.
(3) In a marine area such as Awase tidal flat where large volumes of sea water move in and out, environmental changes over the course of the day are extremely harsh. There are no examples anywhere in the world of this kind of application of mechanical transplanting techniques designed for terrestrial environments without consideration and analysis of the specialized marine environment, which attempts to replace a mixed seagrass community composed of several species with experimental transplantation.
(4) According to the NOAA Guidelines [mentioned above], before putting seagrass transplantation into practice, a series of experiments should be planned in the laboratory and in the field, including analysis of growth in each species of seagrass, and primary experiments to determine how to encourage the plants to root, and the results analyzed over a long period of time.
(5) In addition, in the case of a large-scale transplantation project, assessment of environmental impacts to the donor seagrass beds should be accorded high importance. Considerations regarding how to move large quantities of sand and soil [together with the seagrass] in order to facilitate its taking root, and the process subsequent to transplanting are the most important issues at hand.
(6) Dr. Fonseca, the main researcher involved in drawing up the NOAA Guidelines, noted at the “International Wetland Symposium,” held in Okinawa in October, 2000, that the act of transplanting because an area would be landfilled did not constitute a mitigation measure, but that transplanting seagrass was something undertaken to restore a degenerated or partly destroyed seagrass bed, and that efforts were needed to minimize damage to the donor site where seagrass for transplanting would be dug up. He also noted that the best course was to preserve existing seagrass beds.
The seagrass transplanting being pursued as a mitigation measure for the Awase tidal flat landfill project in Okinawa prefecture is a large-scale mechanized transplantation project that ignores the process of seagrass bed formation and ignores the environmental impacts on the ecosystem of the donor seagrass community and on the transplantation site. The Environmental Monitoring and Reviewing Committee for Awase District of Nakagusuku Bay Harbor has not carried out its proper function with respect to this experiment. I feel strongly the need for a third-party agency with guaranteed neutrality to undertake a comprehensive impact assessment of this kind of large-scale experiment.
NB: Here follows seagrass species of Japan listed in the “Threatened Wildlife of Japan: VASCULAR PLANTS: Red Data Book 2nd ed., 2000” published by the Ministry of Environment.
VU: Vulnerable
Enhalus acrooides
Halophila ovata
Zostera asiatica（Temperate, Subtropical）
Z. caulescens（Temperate）
NT: Near Threatened
Halophila ovalis
Thalassia hemprichii
Cymodocea rotundata
C. serrulata
Halodule pinifolia
H. uninervis
Syringodium isoetifolium
Phyllospadix japonicus（Temperate）
Z. caespitosa（Temperate）
There are 7 species of (subtropical) Near Threatened (NT) seagrass distributed at Awase tidal flat; Halophila ovalis、Thalassia hemprichii、Cymodocea rotundata、Cymodocea serrulata、Halodule pinifolia、Halodule uninervis、Syringodium isoetifolium. A small endangered regional population of Zostera Japonica (temperate) is also found there.
”Kubiremidoro (Pseudodichotomosiphon constri) although not a seagrass, is also an endangered species which the developers are being asked to protect.
Keiko Aioi
No. 105, 2-24-13 Honan, Suginami, Tokyo 168-0062
Tel/Fax: +81 3 3313 1296 E-mail: aioi357@galaxy.ocn.ne.jp
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