Shiretoko is one of the richest integrated ecosystems in the world. Encompassing both terrestrial and marine areas the property is located in the northeast of Hokkaido and is comprised of a part of the Shiretoko Peninsula, which protrudes into the Sea of Okhotsk and the surrounding marine areas.
The extraordinarily high productivity of the marine and terrestrial component of the property, produced and largely influenced by the formation of seasonal sea ice at the lowest latitude in the northern hemisphere, and the prominent interaction between the marine and terrestrial ecosystems are the key features of Shiretoko. The supply of nutrient-rich intermediate water resulting from the formation of sea ice in the Sea of Okhotsk allows successive primary trophic productions including blooms of phytoplankton in early spring, which underpins Shiretoko’s marine ecosystem. This in turn sustains the food sources for terrestrial species, including the brown bear and Blakiston’s fish-owl, through salmonid species swimming upstream to spawn. The property is globally important for a number of marine species, globally threatened seabirds and migratory birds.
The terrestrial ecosystem has various types of virgin vegetation reflecting the complex topography and weather conditions of the property, and serves as a habitat for a rich and diverse range of fauna and flora including endangered and endemic species such as Viola kitamiana.
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