Good evening everyone! This is the Minami Town Tourism Association. Today, June 16, is World Sea Turtle Day. It is said to be a day to nurture the feeling of caring for sea turtles and call for their protection. So today, I would like to introduce you to Ohama Coast, the spawning ground of sea turtles that our Minami Town is proud of! A sandy beach about 500 meters long located in Hiwasoura, Minami-cho, Kaibu-gun, Tokushima Prefecture, is the Ohama Coast. As the name suggests, "big beach" is the origin of the name, and there is Thereare Obama at the mouth of the Hiwasa River, which streams nearby. Just off the coast of Coast is Tachishima, and it is said that it was once possible to walk to the island at low tide. Ohama Coast is famous as a spawning ground for sea turtles, and in 1967 it was designated as a national natural monument under the name of "Sea Turtle and Spawning Grounds of Ohama Coast". Since 1950, statistics on the number of loggerhead sea turtles have been collected, and in 1968, 308 landings were confirmed. However, since 1996, the number of landings has been in the double digits, and since then the number has decreased to the single digits. Finally, in 2018, the number of eggs laid fell to zero for the first time since statistics began, and in 2023, the number of landings was also zero. Even so, Minami Town has been working hard to protect the environment of Ohama Coast, and last year, sea turtles were confirmed to have landed and laid eggs in Ohama Coast in two years yellowtail, and this year, on June 12, the first loggerhead sea turtle landed and laid eggs of the year! They are expected to hatch in early August! In order to protect the Ohama Coast, which is easy for sea turtles to land and lay eggs, Ohama Coast strives to protect the environment by restricting entry to the Coast at night and prohibiting both cars from passing in the vicinity from mid-May ~ mid-August every year. When you come to Minami, please cooperate in protecting the environment and protecting the safety of sea turtles. And while thinking about the sight of the Ohama Coast crowded with sea turtles again, please Enjoy the magnificent Nature! !!