Post by LSDeep on Apr 19, 2006 13:05:17 GMT -5
i guess no expense spared to keep the territory
04/18/2006
BY MOTOKI YOTSUKURA THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
A new plan is under way to keep Japan's southernmost territory, the Okinotorishima islets, from eroding.
Starting next month, the Fisheries Agency will begin a project to preserve the rapidly shrinking coral reef that forms the two tiny islets, each just several meters in diameter.
Located about 1,740 kilometers south of Tokyo, Okinotorishima is the nation's southernmost territory--and carries strategic importance.
The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for Japan's fisheries and other resources is calculated within a radius of the islets.
If they erode to lower than sea level, it could cost Japan about 400,000 square km of EEZ.
The islets are made of coral and surrounded by a reef measuring 4.5 km long and 1.7 km wide.
Rising water temperatures triggered by the El Nino phenomenon in 1998 that destroyed coral reefs around the globe is partly to blame for the erosion. Fish have also been nibbling away at the reefs.
Since 1987, the government has fortified the islets with concrete blocks and breakwaters to prevent erosion.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, however, does not recognize artificial concrete islands when determining EEZ.
Since only natural islands are eligible territory, some officials have called for preserving the coral reef proper.
The agency plans to collect coral eggs spawned near the surface of the water in Okinotorishima, nurture them in tanks, and then reintroduce the grown coral back to the islets.
The method does not damage existing reefs, as would the more conventional method of transplanting a portion of another live reef.
Starting in May, the agency plans to take between 200,000 and 300,000 eggs from the waters around Okinotorishima. It plans to return the grown coral to the sea by next summer.(IHT/Asahi: April 18,2006)
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200604170344.html
04/18/2006
BY MOTOKI YOTSUKURA THE ASAHI SHIMBUN
A new plan is under way to keep Japan's southernmost territory, the Okinotorishima islets, from eroding.
Starting next month, the Fisheries Agency will begin a project to preserve the rapidly shrinking coral reef that forms the two tiny islets, each just several meters in diameter.
Located about 1,740 kilometers south of Tokyo, Okinotorishima is the nation's southernmost territory--and carries strategic importance.
The exclusive economic zone (EEZ) for Japan's fisheries and other resources is calculated within a radius of the islets.
If they erode to lower than sea level, it could cost Japan about 400,000 square km of EEZ.
The islets are made of coral and surrounded by a reef measuring 4.5 km long and 1.7 km wide.
Rising water temperatures triggered by the El Nino phenomenon in 1998 that destroyed coral reefs around the globe is partly to blame for the erosion. Fish have also been nibbling away at the reefs.
Since 1987, the government has fortified the islets with concrete blocks and breakwaters to prevent erosion.
The U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea, however, does not recognize artificial concrete islands when determining EEZ.
Since only natural islands are eligible territory, some officials have called for preserving the coral reef proper.
The agency plans to collect coral eggs spawned near the surface of the water in Okinotorishima, nurture them in tanks, and then reintroduce the grown coral back to the islets.
The method does not damage existing reefs, as would the more conventional method of transplanting a portion of another live reef.
Starting in May, the agency plans to take between 200,000 and 300,000 eggs from the waters around Okinotorishima. It plans to return the grown coral to the sea by next summer.(IHT/Asahi: April 18,2006)
www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200604170344.html