Rise in sea temperatures caused by climate emergency is transforming marine environment and affecting local species

The waters off Kyonan were once home to dense forests of seaweed – the ideal habitat for the prized abalone and sardines that support the town’s economy.

Today, the seaweed beds are threadbare; in some places they have vanished altogether, to be replaced by coral that belongs in the tropics, not in this corner of Tokyo Bay. Marine life that depended on macro algae for survival is making way for fish usually found in waters much further south.