Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2000

8. STATUS OF CORAL REEFS OF EAST AND
NORTH ASIA: CHINA, JAPAN AND TAIWAN
SHUICHI FUJIWARA, TAKURO SHIBUNO, K. MITO, TATSUO NAKAI,
YASUNORI SASAKI, DAI CHANG-FENG AND CHEN GANG
ABSTRACT
These reefs sit at the northern edge of the Southeast Asian centre of biodiversity and as
such share many of the species and characteristics of reefs to the south. Coral bleaching
and mortality seriously damaged the reefs of southern Japan and Taiwan, and possibly of
China, from July to September, 1998, when seasonal winds and currents slowed during the
La Niña climate change. Bleaching stopped in late September when the first typhoon of the
season came. There were many reports of coral losses of 30-60% and some as high as 80-
90%, with some localised extinctions of prominent corals reported. The Japanese
government has established an international coral reef centre on Ishigaki Island (the
southern islands of Okinawa) to facilitate coral reef conservation in the region and assist the
GCRMN with monitoring. All countries have improved policies concerning coral reefs, but
more attention is needed for designating and managing MPAs and building capacity as
reefs in this region come under extreme pressures from over-fishing, as well as high levels
of sediment and nutrient pollution arising from activities on land.
INTRODUCTION
The coral reefs of Taiwan and Japan are closely linked by the northward flowing Kuroshio
current which brings warm water and coral reef larvae from reefs in the South China Sea and
the Philippines. This creates ideal connections for corals and other species to move
northward to the Japanese main islands, and the warmer conditions make these some of
the most northern coral reefs in the world. The Chinese reefs, mainly on Hainan Island are at
the northern end of the South China Sea, therefore they have links with reefs of Vietnam and
the Spratly Archipelago to the south. These reefs are also adjacent to the largest
concentration of people on earth, such that they have provided resources of food and
other materials for thousands of years. However, the pressures of these populations on the
reefs has been increasingly resulting in considerable damage to the resources, which was
exacerbated by heavy coral bleaching and mortality during the massive climate change
events of 1998.
China
The coral reefs of Hainan are on the northern margin of Indo-Pacific coral reef centres of
high biodiversity, and presumably there are also large numbers of species here, but there is
lack of taxonomic capacity to confirm this. Studies are required to assess the possible
important role that these reefs play in the global reef system. The major coral reefs areas
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