#Status of Coral Reefs 2002 - International Coral Reef Action Network

Status of Coral Reefs in East and North Asia
Kuroshio Current from the south, whereas the Oyashio cold current determines the
northern limit of coral growth. In addition, there are major reef areas around islands well
to the east of the main islands of Japan. There are three types of reefs: fringing; barrier;
and one raised atoll (Daito Island). The Yaeyama Islands in the south are particularly
important because they have high species diversity, including many endemic species. The
highest latitude coral reef is on Iki Island, Nagasaki Prefecture, which was regarded as a
non-reef area in 2000.
Coral reefs or coral communities are found around Taiwan except in the sandy area on the
west coast. The main reef area is on the southern tip of the island, the Hengchun
Peninsula, and offshore islands including Lutao, Lanyu, Hsiao-Liuchiu and Penghu
Islands, as well as Tungsha Island (Pratas Island) and Taiping Island (Itu Aba Island) in the
South China Sea. Species diversity of reef organisms on the coral reefs around Taiwan is
relatively high with approximately 300 species of hard corals, 50 species of soft corals, 20
species of gorgonians, 130 species of decapod crustaceans, 90 species of echinoderms,
1,200 species of reef fishes and 150 species of algae having been recorded.
The Korean Peninsula has a 11,500km coastline (Republic of Korea only) including the
coastlines of 3,153 islands in the Korean Sea. The characteristics of the eastern, western
and southern coasts are quite different from each other. The eastern coast is quite steep,
and borders a deep sea-basin with a narrow continental margin. Sandy beaches and rocky
shores are relatively well developed on this coastline. The southern and western coasts
are much more complex with calmer waters and contain many islands scattered over the
southern and western shallow seas. These coastal and marine environments provide
diverse habitats for marine life and abundant marine resources.
STATUS OF CORAL REEF BENTHOS
China
No new information has been received.
Japan
Coral bleaching in 1998 damaged all coral communities from the Ryukyu Islands to
southern Honshu, except for the western Shikoku, Miyake and Ogasawara Islands. New
coral recruitment has been recorded at the damaged areas in Okinawa Island and Amami
Islands and coral cover was increasing in the Kerama Islands, Ishigaki and Sekisei Lagoon
in 2000. While most coral communities were recovering from the bleaching, another
bleaching occurred from Ryukyu Islands to Amami Islands in summer 2001. Higher
mortality at 45.7-68.8% loss was evident in the southern Sekisei Lagoon and Ishigaki Island,
southern Ryukyus, but there was no mortality in Miyako Islands and Amami Islands.
In contrast, corals are increasing their distribution around Kyushu and southern Honshu
and remain in good condition. The coral cover was 34.6-80% in Kushimoto, Honshu and
5-80% in Amakusa, Kyushu in 2001. High recruitment of Acropora solitaryensis was
observed in Amakusa, and this increase may have been caused by increasing minimum
water temperatures in these areas, compared to increasing summer temperatures that
caused bleaching damage to corals during summer in the Ryukyus to the south. The
155