Abstract
Many photographs of seascapes were collected from seven sites in 'Isoyake areas' (sea deforestation areas)
on the southwest coast of Japan, namely from Wakayama, Miyazaki and Kagoshima Prefectures. The features were
compared in order to clarify their common points and the differences among their seascapes. There were wide
variations in the seascapes in 'Isoyake areas' on the southwest coast of Japan. Especially, the algal vegetation in
'Isoyake areas' varied, i.e. 1) only crustose corallin red algae occurred, 2) short-lived small algae dominated, and
3) long-lived macro brown algae Sargassum spp. dominated. In 'Isoyake areas', a high density of sea urchins and
snails were observed on the rocky bottom and grazed marks by fish were observed on lamina of Eisenia and
Ecklonia plants. The 'Isoyake areas' faced to open sea, and had a high transparency around the coast of Wakayama
Prefecture. The importance of continuous monitoring on bio-communities and environmental conditions through
from in the seaweed.beds adjacent to 'Isoyake areas' is discussed.
