Marine Animals
Marine Animals Tell Us About the Wealth of the Nemuro Sea
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According to the records, foxes were kept on Yururi Island and Moyururi Island during the Taisho era. A company called “Kitanihon Fox Farming” set up a fenced-in fox farm on Yururi Island, and kept dozens of foxes on Moyururi Island in a natural pasture, and sold their furs. However, the business seems to have closed down after a decade or so. The reason is said to have been that the foxes fled across the ice when the Pacific coast of the Nemuro Peninsula was covered with drift ice. The islands may seem far apart, but the sea actually connects them. This incident may have taught us something about that. Yes, the sea is an entity that separates and connects lands at the same time.
Even the fox, a terrestrial creature, travels the seas when the conditions are right. So it is natural for marine animals to appear in a wide range of areas. Many marine animals frequently appear around Yururi Island as well. We have seen more and more sea otters, harbor seals, and largha seals in recent years. Sea otters lived in the east of Hokkaido, but were thought to be extinct due to overhunting for their fur. Now, however, it is not uncommon to see several at a time in the waters between Yururi Island and the fishing port of Kombumori. Since 2014, breeding sea otters have been confirmed on Yururi Island and Moyururi Island.
The presence of many of these marine animals is evidence of the richness of the sea around Yururi Island. We have already mentioned that horses were brought to Yururi Island because they needed kelp harvesting. The prosperity of kelp harvesting, which continues to this day, is engraved in the place’s name, Kombumori. In addition, the Ochiishi Fishing Cooperative, which has jurisdiction over the waters surrounding Yururi Island, lands a variety of marine products throughout the year. Salmon, saury, crab, and sea urchin fisheries are particularly popular. Seals and other marine animals are considered high predators, and they are at the top of the ecosystem in the ocean. The fact that such marine animals gather here shows that the sea around Yururi Island is rich in seafood for them to feed on. To the human eye, these marine animals look somewhat humorous. Still, in fact, they represent the broader base of the pyramid formed by life in the sea. In other words, the ocean of Yururi, where marine animals live, is truly a “sea of treasure.”
A description of the marine animals near Yururi Island can already be found in the writings of Matsuura Takeshiro at the beginning of the Meiji era. Takeshiro traveled along the southern coast of the Nemuro Peninsula, where the Hanasaki Line now runs, pondering the origin of the word Hanasaki, “Hanasaki, is this the Japanese word for Cape Nose?” And he looked at the island of Yururi, saying, “I saw two islands (Yururi and Moyururi) in front of me, two miles out to sea,” and wrote that this area was a “fishing ground of marine animals” for the Ainu. This is how long and deep the relationship between people and marine animals has been on the sea of Yururi Island.
However, there is a problem. That is, feeding damage by marine animals. For example, the lovely appearance of sea otters floating on the waves with their bellies up, eating shellfish by smashing them with stones placed on their bodies, is soothing to the eye. However, sea otters are also very fussy eaters. Sea otters eat 20-30% of their own bodyweight to maintain their body temperature in the cold ocean. A 40kg sea otter can eat up to 10 kg of seafood a day. Known to be poor fishers, sea otters are particularly fond of sea urchins. If the number of sea otters increases, it will be a big blow to the sea urchin fishery. For those who make a living from fishing, sea otters cannot simply be regarded as charming creatures. On the other hand, there is the idea that if the number of kelp-eating sea urchins decreases, it will positively affect the kelp fishery. In any case, ecosystems are based on a highly delicate balance. Its dynamics are also complex. To protect the richness of the Yururi Sea and the lives of the people who live with the sea for a long time, what forms of relationship should be established between people and marine creatures? We need to be in constant dialogue with the ocean to think about this.
