Hundreds of fish washed up on the roads of Nagahama, Okinawa

Posted on November 13, 2018 by Admin11

In 2014 Typhoon Neoguri brought in heavy winds and lots of rain. I have experienced many typhoons since 1989 but nothing like this. Typhoon Neoguri was the worse flooding I have ever seen. These photographs are from 2014, better late than never.

The rain was overwhelming and caused extreme flooding. The Nagaham dam overflow reservoir could not keep up with the amount of rain.

The massive amount of water caused hundreds of tilapia and mullet to wash ashore on the local farm roads.

Tilapia are a non-native fish. They were brought here as a food source in the mid-1900s. They have taken over most freshwater sources and compete with native aquatic animals on Okinawa.

With all the rainwater the coastline turned a bright orange. Red soil runoff contributes to coral reef bleaching and fertilizers entering the water from local farming fields.

Have a great day!

Even the birds had nowhere to hide during Typhoon Trami

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Admin11

I have experienced many typhoons in the last twenty-five years. Typhoon Trami was by far the strongest storm of the year. Its normal to see marine life washed ashore but this was my first time finding shorebirds washed ashore.

The images might be disturbing to some of the viewers but this is how I naturally found the birds on local beaches. A variety of egrets, terns, snipes, pigeons, and herons could not cope with the harsh conditions.

An abundance of marine debris also washed up. A disgusting amount of single-use items like styrofoam, plastic bottle caps, water bottles, lighters, combs, razors, cigarette butts, and floats littered the shoreline.

Our trash is a serious problem on our shorelines. What are you doing to make a difference? Have a great day.

Marine life washed ashore during Typhoon Trami

Posted on October 4, 2018 by Admin11

Typhoon Trami was by far the strongest storm of the year. The typhoon brought heavy winds, rain, and extreme sea conditions. A huge amount of marine life could not cope with these harsh conditions.

An abundance of marine debris also washed up. A disgusting amount of styrofoam, plastic bottle caps, water bottles, lighters, combs, razors, and floats littered the shorelines.

Marine debris

Environmental impact

Styrofoam pollution

I have been living on Okinawa for over twenty-five years and this was the first time seeing a devastating amount of marine life washed ashore. The storm was so powerful that large clumps of stony coral broke off and washed ashore.

Marine life and plastic pollution

Marine fish and plastic pollution

Pufferfish washed ashore

Red Grouper

Plastic wrapping

Parrot fish washed up

Eel and Styrofoam

Dead fish

fish and flops

Wrasses and plastic

Hermit crab and plastic

Pufferfish washed ashore

Coral washed ashore

I also managed to find some unique animals washed ashore. Five red frogfish, twelve sea snakes, a spiny seahorse and five unknown orange fish (Ogilibia sp).

Frogfish washed ashore

Sea snake washed up

Spiky seahorse

Starfish of Okinawa

Undescribed orange fish (Ogilbia sp).

If you would like to use any of my images please contact me directly. Have a great day!

Marine Life Washed Ashore – Typhoon Vongfong

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Admin11

Super Typhoon Vongfong was considered to be to be the strongest storm of the year. We were very lucky the strength of the storm died down before it landed on the Island of Okinawa. The typhoon brought heavy winds and rough sea conditions. A fair amount of marine life could not cope with these harsh conditions.