Australian and Japanese experts on the dugong, a sea mammal, agreed that a proposed air facility on the eastern coast of Okinawa Prefecture would further imperil the already threatened creature and urged the government to act to preserve it at a symposium in Tokyo on Sunday.
The number of dugongs that exist off the coast of Okinawa is unclear, but it is certain there are very few, perhaps only 10, said Mie University professor and dugong expert Toshio Kasuya.
The proposed heliport in Nago, northern Okinawa Island, which would need to be at least 1.6 km long and 800 meters wide, would split in two the area where dugong are most active, Kasuya said.