Osaka Bay Restoration Action Plan - Osaka Bay - 2003

Osaka Bay Restoration Action Plan - Osaka Bay - 2003

From the 1990s to the 2000s, water pollution and red tides caused by increased BOD and COD levels became a problem in Osaka Bay. Fishery catches declined, especially along the coasts of Sakai City and Kobe City, adversely affecting clam and oyster cultivation. In response, the Osaka Bay Restoration Promotion Council was established with the participation of Osaka Prefecture, Hyogo Prefecture, Kansai Electric Power Company, Sumitomo Chemical, and others, and in 2003 the Osaka Bay Restoration Action Plan was launched. The plan set goals to reduce BOD and COD, and to reduce annual nitrogen and phosphorus emissions by 500 and 200 tons, respectively. In addition, citizens and companies are participating in coastal cleanup and tree-planting activities with the aim of regenerating 100,000 square meters of eelgrass beds in five years off the coast of Kobe City and in Nanko Port.