Northern Kyushu, Tropical Fish and Sanho Increase...Rapid Changes in Ecosystems Due to Rising Seawater Temperature

[Anchor]
Recently, the sea surface temperature has risen off the coast of northern Kyushu, Japan, and the underwater ecosystem is rapidly changing.

Various tropical fish and tropical coral that have not been seen recently have been discovered one after another.

Correspondent Kim Se-ho's report from Tokyo.

[Reporter]
Off the coast of Saga Prefecture in northern Kyushu, Japan, which is famous for its superb view of the column-shaped stone structure leading to the bottom of the sea.

Seaweeds that have covered underwater stone structures for a decade have almost disappeared.

[Shiro Namiguchi / Diving club member (40 years of diving experience): I think seaweed has decreased to almost 10 minutes 1]

This is because the noticeable increase in tropical fish ate up the algae.

It is also easy to find a high-end tropical fish species that has rarely been seen recently.

[Junichi Okuyama / Japanese Fisheries Research Institute: The number of fish species that originally lived in coral reefs or tropical areas is increasing recently near Kyushu or in Honshu.]

Fukuoka's dagumbari harvest increased from 408 kg in 2012 to 11,500 kg as of the year before last.

Fish that are related to tawny fish are also increasing in the fish market.

[Japanese Fish Market Merchant] It's gotten a lot more in the near years. Especially these colored fish.]

Sea waters in northern East China Sea, including off the coast of northern Kyushu, have risen 1.3 degrees on average over the past 100 years.

In addition, not only tropical fish but also soft and brightly colored tropical coral can be found without difficulty.

Japanese environmental authorities are closely watching the butterfly effect and side effects of rapid changes in the underwater ecosystem caused by rising sea temperatures.

I'm Kim Se-ho from YTN in Tokyo.