September 7, 2022

I participated in the loggerhead turtle survey program at NYK Minabe! ! (2022.7.14-16)

I have recently participated as a member of the NYK Group in a volunteer program in which Nippon Yusen Co., Ltd. (NYK) and certified NPO Earthwatch Japan (EWJ) conduct research in collaboration. This activity began in 2016 and is now in its seventh year, but due to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, this was the first time in three years that we had a survey recruiting volunteers, and I participated from July 14th to 16th (2 nights and 3 days). Specifically, the book will learn about the conservation of the marine environment through an ecology survey of loggerhead turtles, an endangered species that lands on the beach in Minabe Town, Hidaka District, Wakayama Prefecture to spawn eggs. The reasons for participating were that Kinkai Yusen Co., Ltd. decided to donate and continue supporting a research vessel to investigate the ecology of sea turtles to the Kuroshima Research Institute, an auxiliary research institute of the Japan Sea Turtle Council, and half of the people were hoping to become part of this, and another half of the people were purely interested in ecological research into sea turtles themselves.

 I'll write this early as it will disappoint you, but during this activity, I was unable to observe the turtle spawning! !

Didn't they go during the spawning period? What did you go for? I'm sure you'll hear these things all over, but my current impression is that it's extremely presumptuous that researchers have been researching over decades in a bid to experience just three days of researchers' research in relation to nature. It was a cleavage (accidental) during the spawning cycle and the weather wasn't good, so it's a shame that I couldn't find any sea turtles, but even after taking that into account, it was a good experience to be able to participate in this volunteer work. From next year onwards, I hope that all Kinkai Yusen related members will also be able to enter and experience this activity.

 1. Survey of sea turtles

Many people may imagine that they should wait for hours to investigate creatures or wait in the shadows so that they cannot be seen. This survey on loggerhead sea turtles in Minabe was the opposite, and it required a lot of physical strength, taking 15-minute walks and 15-minute breaks to and from the beach. Loggerhead sea turtles do not take an hour to get up to land, spawn, and then return to the sea, but the beach is about 1.3km long, so of course it's not clear where they'll land. To avoid overlooking this, they seem to use the technique of walking with a break (※The footprints of a sea turtle that were not on the outbound journey were found on the return journey = proof that there is a sea turtle!). This activity was held for a total of two days from 9pm to 11pm. It was not easy to walk in diving shoes that were unfamiliar to sandy beaches, rocky areas, and some rivers, but the excitement of walking while thinking about the possibility of sea turtles, and the time I spent listening to the sound of the waves during my break without thinking about anything was rare in my office worker's life.

 2. The plum town of Minabe

On the afternoon of the second day, we had time to learn about Minabe Town. I learned that 90% of the crop cultivation area is plum, and 70% of the industry is related to plums, which combines the primary and tertiary industries, and that Minabe Town, where the "Ume Section" exists at the town hall, is literally a town of plums. You may have heard the term Nanko plum, and this is the plum variety "Nanko High School," and it is said that its name comes from the fact that teachers and students from Minami High School were involved in research and research in 1965. Furthermore, it is a region that has only 11 designated "World Agricultural Heritage" in Japan (ensure biodiversity using plums), and although it was conducted to investigate sea turtles, I realized that it is a region with a deeper rooted culture of plums than sea turtles. There are plum farmers on the support staff, and despite their main job, they have made a significant contribution to sea turtle conservation activities (not researchers or volunteers, but local people are voluntarily employed by themselves), and it felt like they had seen the true nature of conservation activities.

3. Things I was able to experience because I stayed overnight

As impressive as I was able to act with the support staff in Minabe Town, I was exposed to the latest research carried out through conservation activities. Professor Matsuzawa, who accompanied this volunteer, serves as the chairman of the Japan Sea Turtle Council and is a leading expert in sea turtle research worldwide. The professor received a rich lecture during the day (what he has studied up until now, what he wants to do in the future) over two days, and then he spent fieldwork together, and after the survey was completed, he was able to gather in the teacher's room and talk to him until the morning, making it even more luxurious and valuable than watching sea turtles laying. I don't think I could have even had any contact with a mere volunteer (I don't think there's a chance that an authority in the sea turtle world will talk about sea turtles from scratch to a completely amateur!). I feel that the synergistic effect of volunteers, local staff, and researchers working together to help people with different positions has broadened my perspective.

 4. Get interested and expand the circle

Have you been able to do anything by participating in this volunteer? When asked, the answer is "No", and we have not concluded that sea turtle conservation activities are directly linked to the conservation of nature (sea). However, I have become more positive and more interested. Sea turtles, which are extraordinary to me, are everyday life for locals, and researchers were a yardstick for thinking about this world. When I hear about SDGs and environmental protection, I often get mad, but the trigger or first step is to have a familiar "interest." Whether or not this exists will change your way of thinking about the garbage in front of you. What does it have to do with your current job? There's no need to twist your mind. It might be a good idea to start off by jumping into the circle. Personally, I would like to visit Minabe town again at the same time next year to catch sea turtles.
As an aside, when I asked Professor Matsuzawa, "Where are the recommended aquariums (in Japan)?", I received the following answer.

Please use this as a reference when going out to play.

・Oita Marine Palace Aquarium "Umi Tamago"
・Nagoya Port Aquarium
・Sunshine Coast Aquarium /Sumida Aquarium (in Kanto)

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