Changing Coastal Commons in a Sub-Tropical Island Ecosystem, Yaeyama Islands, Japan - Island Futures: Conservation and Development Across the Asia-Pacific Region - page 133

Fig. 10.4 Stone weir at Komi, Iriomote Island. It was abandoned in 2007
1984 ); (2) the out-migration of village people to urban regions, and from Okinawa
prefecture to mainland Japan; (3) the development of net fishing; (4) changes in
traditional fishing techniques to more modern practices; and (5) the decline of
communal labor practices for the maintenance of weir walls. Although there is no
known direct evidence to document the decline of tidal stone weir fishing in
Yaeyama, development of fishing gear and active fishing activities by Itoman
fishermen have likely contributed to a decline of yields from tidal stone weirs.
Revitalization and Local Commons
Reasons associated with the decline of traditional culture and strong impacts of
modernization and external forces appear to be common in other cases, apart from
the present case study. Yet, it is evident that small-scale traditional tidal stone weir
fishing has persisted over several hundreds of years, at least in Yaeyama Islands. In
line with recent trends of over-fishing and degradation of marine environment,
sustainable fishing has come to be re-evaluated.
In Shiraho, TSW fishing was revived in 2006 after an absence of almost 40 years
(Kamimura 2007 ) (Fig. 10.5 ). Following the tense debate on the construction of the
new Ishigaki airport since 1979, the people of Shiraho were urged to choose
between the positive economic developments highlighted by the airport developers
and the environmental threats faced by the coral reef and its biota, particularly the
rich Acrophora corals (e.g. Moyer 1989 ), as highlighted by those opposed to the
development. The new airport site has now been decided: it has been moved from
the place it was to be located to a less controversial inland site. It has been under
construction since 2006, and is scheduled for completion in 2012.
In the course of these tumultuous debates, the Shiraho people have become
much more aware of the importance of coral reefs both for the marine environment