![]() ![]() This meant nutrients from the land did not flow into the sea, but accumulated together with rain water in the former tidal flat. This former tidal flat had dried out due to a dike that cut it off from the sea. To deepen the study, a tidal flat restoration project was begun at a sewage-like site where rain and soil runoff had accumulated. As a result of a study in which seawater flows were introduced into and out of a former tidal flat for three years starting 2006, many living things such as clams came back. The leader of this effort is the Mie Prefecture Fisheries Research Institute. Coastal pollution has become a big issue for the local community.Īs the reclaimed land is no longer used, people are now trying to re-convert the reclaimed land back to tidal flat and make Ago Bay a beautiful bay. This in turn damaged pearl oysters, one of the region's important products, and other bivalves. As a result, upper Ago Bay's capacity for purifying seawater and nurturing species has deteriorated, resulting in chronic red tides and oxygen deficiency. The remaining tidal flats have been impacted by domestic wastewater and pollution from pearl cultivation in neighboring areas. Looking back today, however, 85 percent of the rice paddies created by tidal flat reclamation were not used but lay fallow or were simply left to run to waste. As a result, some 70 percent of Ago Bay's tidal flat area was lost. These tidal flats, however, were reclaimed to create rice paddies in the late of Edo Period. There used to be about 269 hectares of tidal flats equal to roughly 10 percent of the sea surface area in upper Ago Bay. ![]() This article introduces one of these initiatives in Ago Bay, which is famous for pearl cultivation, in the Ise area of Mie Prefecture in central Japan. At the same time, there are also some efforts to restore tidal flats. In Japan, 41 percent have disappeared since 1945. However, such tidal flats have been lost to reclamation worldwide. ![]() They nurture many species, purify water, and protect lands from storms and waves. In this way, tidal flats are precious both for wildlife and humans. But it is said that if the tidal flats that originally lined the coast had not been reclaimed, the city would not have been so devastated. For example, when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans in the US, it caused catastrophic damage. If there is a tideland along a coast, it can reduce the power of storms and strong waves. Moreover, a tidal flat also plays a role as a buffer between the sea and the land. The more creatures a tidal flat has, the stronger its purification effect is. Substances floating in the water are taken in as food by sea creatures such as Japanese shortneck clams, which are harvested and eaten by wild birds and fish. The sea is cleaned by creatures living in tidal flats, too. Microorganisms like bacteria living in the sand also help to dissolve organic material, which helps purify water. By virtue of the ebb and flow of tides, dirty water is filtered through its sand grains. Tidal flats have another role - purifying water. ![]() Thus, a tidal flat is a rich wildlife habitat. For wild birds, it is a feeding ground as well as a stopover site. It is also a nursery ground for fish like gobies that live there as juveniles. These environmental factors help nurture a great many species, and tidal flats are often called the cradle of sea life.Ī tidal flat is home to many families of species including crabs, shellfish, and lugworms. They also incorporate a great deal of oxygen and receive sunlight at low tide. With mixture of fresh water from rivers and seawater, tidal flats also receive abundant nutrients that flow down from the land. A tidal flat is a coastal wetland consisting of an area of sand and mud that is alternatively covered and exposed by the tide. ![]()
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