Kuroshima Research Station started in 1973, under the name of the UnderwaterPark Foundation, Yaeyama Underwater Park Research Institute,　for the purpose of managing and utilizing the underwater area in Sekisei(Jap. 石西)

lagoon A lagoon is a shallow body of water separated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform, such as reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses. Lagoons are commonly divided into ''coastal lagoons'' (or ''barrier lagoons'') a ...

between Ishigaki (Jap. 石垣) Island and

Iriomote is the largest of the Yaeyama Islands of Japan, and the second largest in Okinawa Prefecture after Okinawa Island itself. The island has an area of and a 2005 population of 2,347. The island does not have an airstrip, and most visitors — ov ...

(Jap. 西表) Island including Kuroshima (Jap. 黒島) Island. From the beginning, it worked as ocean research station, and existed until 2002 under the financial support of Nagoya Railroad Business Operations Co. Ltd. At present Kuroshima Research Station belongs to the NPO Sea Turtle Association of Japan. Its activities worthy of mention are its 30 years’ research into the nesting of

sea turtles Sea turtles (superfamily Chelonioidea), sometimes called marine turtles, are reptiles of the order Testudines and of the suborder Cryptodira. The seven existing species of sea turtles are the flatback, green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, ...

, especially confirmation of the nesting of the

hawksbill sea turtle The hawksbill sea turtle (''Eretmochelys imbricata'') is a critically endangered sea turtle belonging to the family Cheloniidae. It is the only extant species in the genus ''Eretmochelys''. The species has a global distribution, that is largel ...

for the first time in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, in addition to confirming the nesting of

green sea turtle The green sea turtle (''Chelonia mydas''), also known as the green turtle, black (sea) turtle or Pacific green turtle, is a species of large sea turtle of the family Cheloniidae. It is the only species in the genus ''Chelonia''. Its range exten ...

s. Their research regarding

acanthaster ''Acanthaster'' is a bitypic genus of large and venomous starfish placed in its own family, Acanthasteridae. Its two members are known as crown-of-thorns starfish. Acanthaster are native to coral reefs in Indo-Pacific region. The species in ...

s and

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...

s deserves special mention. In 2005, they sponsored the Japanese Sea Turtle Conference, which is held every year at the location of sea turtles nesting rookeries in Japan.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Sea Turtle Association of Japan
* ttp://www.wonder-okinawa.jp/006/english/index.html The nature of Yaeyama Islands Turtle conservation organizations Animal welfare organizations based in Japan Environmental organizations based in Japan Environmental organizations established in 1973 1973 establishments in Japan