First Kuroshima Training Experience

I have recently been selected as a member of the first Kuroshima Training Group, and
have been involved in practical training and port cleaning activities at Kuroshima Research Institute, a remote island located about 30 minutes by ferry from Ishigaki Island, where I am researching sea turtles.
The research vessel "AKARI" donated by Kinkai Yusen
yourself how it is used to investigate the ecology of sea turtles, and how beautiful the sea, famous for its Kuroshima Blue, is.

Cleaning activities

One of the purposes of this time was cleaning activities, which were the only way to clean Nishinohama. If you simply hear the word "Western Beach," you will think of the sea to the west, but it's not! Okinawa's name is not "to, zai, nan, me" but "agari, iri, yae, nishi." Therefore, west beach = Kita beach. The western beach, which is facing north, can be seen in the back, and Iriomote Island on the left. The day we conducted the cleaning activities was June, but the temperature was 31 degrees. Working while experiencing the strong sunlight was a physical struggle against the extreme heat. The beach was scattered in large quantities of plastic bottles, styrofoam and buoys used in the fishing industry, tainting the beautiful white sandy beach. The caps and labels were overflowing with Korean and Chinese, and washed-away trash was noticeable. About 30 minutes after we started, the garbage bags were packed full, and in about two hours we were able to collect about four bin bags of garbage. However, since there is no garbage incineration facility on Kuroshima, only plastic waste was collected this time, and unfortunately, we were not able to collect glass bottles or other materials.
in order for the mother turtle who came to Kuroshima to spawn eggs, instead of seeing the sea full of garbage, they would need to continue to carry out regular cleaning activities in the future

After the cleaning activities, the long-awaited lunch was here! We had some artasova at Heart Land, a shop located right in front of the port. In Okinawa, Ausa refers to Aosa. The soba noodles, which were packed with beautiful green asa harvested on the island, were delicious, and the delicious soup soaked into the dried throat, and I finished it in no time!

Activity time!

This time, we were able to have a snorkeling experience with the support of trainees! Training is important, but I was actually really looking forward to this time... (lol)
I took the donated ship AKARI and stopped the boat about 20 minutes off the harbor, and received instructions on the precautions and equipment during snorkeling, and prepared everything! We're heading to the ocean world!
It's a beautiful world that is hard to describe in words. Around the reef, there are many colorful fish, such as green and red, and they swim freely. I, too, relax my body and burn the world in front of me, without thinking about anything difficult. Thank you for enjoying this moment. At first I was worried about what to do if I couldn't breathe well, but when I entered the beach, it was completely gone! Rather, I wanted to see the world shining blue for as long as possible, so I had entered the world of the ocean until the researcher gave me an order to ascend.
When I returned to the port, the sea from the boat was crystal clear, completely different from the colour of the sea I knew. There are still so many things I don't know, and I strongly feel that I want to know more and continue to cherish the experience of knowing things I didn't know in the future.

What I felt in three days

It was a very valuable experience for me to be able to experience and learn about the ecology of sea turtles and the environment of the Yaeyama Islands at Kuroshima Institute, which is visited by people from small children to the elderly, to learn about the ecology of sea turtles and the environment of the Yaeyama Islands, and to actually listen to the researchers' stories, and to try to understand them by experiencing them in person and experiencing them.
If AKARI had not been donated to Kuroshima Research Institute, I don't think they would have learned about Kuroshima and the ecology of sea turtles.
Ships are an infrastructure that is indispensable for living on Kuroshima. In everyday life, garbage is collected and transported to a disposal facility as a matter of course, but on Kuroshima, the garbage must be transported by boat outside the island, which takes even more money and time. Kuroshima, which has no river, has a water monument. In the past, during droughts, we had to rely on the rainwater we had accumulated or go to Iriomote Island to collect water by boat. I was able to once again see and feel the greatness of ships that carry people and things, and sometimes used for environmental protection activities and research.
First of all, what I can do to protect the environment is to bring back garbage. When you spend time in nature, make sure that it does not become a burden on the natural ecosystem. They believed that the reason why sea turtles are endangered is the marine plastic problem, but also the reason is that there is no suitable spawning location due to the effects of human activity. Without this training, I would not have noticed a variety of issues.
By actually seeing and experiencing it with your body for the past three days, I realized that I can understand it more deeply. Thank you very much for having such a valuable opportunity.

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