Adventure World has been upcycling giant panda waste and placing it in the ocean as spawning beds for giant squid. In the past, the spawning beds were placed in the fishing port of White Beach Town, but this year, for the fourth year, 21 beds were placed in the fishing port of Kishiwada City, Osaka Prefecture, for the first time.

For the egg-laying beds, we used bamboo branches and leaves from Kishiwada City that the giant pandas had last eaten before returning home. The bamboo, which had been provided by Kishiwada City for many years, was used for the first time as a place to nurture new life in the local sea.

In addition, elementary school students from Kishiwada City participated in the hands-on experience of making spawning beds as part of ESD environmental education, providing an opportunity to deepen their understanding of environmental conservation.

We will continue to monitor the spawning of the cuttlefish and the presence or absence of attached organisms through monitoring surveys.


Panda Bamboo Project: Blue Squid Spawning Beds
[Background]
In recent years, rising sea water temperatures and the expansion of the distribution of organisms that feed on algae have changed the marine ecosystem of White Rock and reduced the number of seaweed spawning grounds for the Blue Squid. On the other hand, the increase in the number of abandoned forests is becoming a problem and requires appropriate management. At Adventure World, these trees have been cut down and used as food for the pandas, but the pandas only eat the fresh leaves and stems of the trees as a whole, leaving a large amount of trunks and leaves after feeding. From 2022, we will start bundling the leftover wood and sinking it to the seabed to be used as a spawning bed for bluefin reef squid and as a substrate for small organisms to grow. This activity is an ongoing project to preserve the natural environment and strengthen cooperation between local communities.
Co-organizers] Whitehama Town, Kishiwada City, Kyoto University Seisho Submarine Research Laboratory
[Cooperation] AORI Community, Osaka Prefecture Federation of Fishery Cooperative Associations, Kishiwada Authentic Museum, Kishiwada City Board of Education, Kishiwada City Shu℉How Comprehensive School, Kyohei Senpaku, Kishwada Watership, Tribe Diving School, Hiro Melabo, Wakamaru South Fishery Cooperative Association (5%) (in alphabetical order)