Ashizuri-Uwakai National Park by the Numbers (1)
384
Number of sea slug species living in Tatsukushi Bay. This number accounts for about 30 percent of the 1,400-odd species known to inhabit the waters of Japan.
116
Number of coral species found in the sea around the island of Okinoshima. The variety of corals here is greater than anywhere else in Shikoku.
1,000
Approximate number of fish species known to inhabit the sea around the island of Kashiwajima. The diversity of fish species here is the greatest in all of Japan.
300
The estimated age of some of the Plesiastrea versipora corals in the sea off Sunokawa. There are more of these long-lived corals in Sunokawa than anywhere else in Japan.
1
Rank in Japanese pearl production. The city of Uwajima is number one. Uwajima has also grown the most pearl oysters in the country every year since 1971, when record-keeping began.
1
Rank in production of sodabushi (dried fillets of frigate tuna). About 70–80 percent of all sodabushi consumed in Japan comes from Tosashimizu, the country’s leading production area.
1
Rank in production of farmed fish of any prefecture in Japan. Ehime produces about 55 percent of all farmed red sea bream (madai) eaten in Japan, and approximately 30 percent of that total is farmed in the city of Uwajima.
3
The town of Otsuki’s rank in the production of farmed bluefin tuna in all Japan. Otsuki’s fish farmers have mastered so-called artificial seed production, which means they can grow baby fish on the farms instead of having to capture pregnant fish in the wild.
