Save the Coast / Dolphin Project / The Sea of Japan "Nakhodka" Oil Spill Voluntary Act

[Japanese | English]

For Beloved Friends,

I drove my car from Osaka toward Mikuni-cho, Fukui-pref., Japan, to join the volunteer act against the "Nakhodka" Oil Spill Accident at the Sea of Japan. It was almost three days after the accident, and I could spend only two days (January 16 - 17, 1997) using my compensatory days off.

After arriving at the coast, the first thing I saw was the tanker Nakhodka showing its capsized rusty hull on the water. Although the state of the coast (Echizen Coast) was what TV had been reporting, the bows of Nakhodka was terribly mammoth and deadly near from the coast. The sight made me feel that my most precious thing had been broken by someone's carelessness. An accident indeed, but how can it be restored? These thoughts petrified me on the cold coast blackened by the heavy oil.

With full protection against heavy oil, I visited volunteer office at 7:30 A.M. on January 16. After registration, they asked me to go to Echizen-Matsushima Aquarium. Aquarium? I could not understand why I had to go there until being explained at the place. In short, because the dolphin pool was supplied with water directly from the Sea of Japan, small oil balls could come into the pool to form the oil film which gave strong damage to those dolphins. The water was transported from the deep place of the sea, so the oil balls were not big, only 1 - 3 mm in diameter. The continuous intrusion of small but an enormous number of oil balls could form rainbow-colored oil film. This noticed me that all living things were faced with the same situation under the sea. Because a seven month old baby dolphin was there, aquarium staffs were cautious about their transportation but the situation itself decided the stuffs to move them to Suma Aquarium, KOBE, on January 17 - 18. Thus, the volunteer work was to maintain the water condition for the dolphins' convenience until their departure to KOBE, the former disaster place in 1995.

We used oil absorption sheets (80x80 cm) attached to the tee sticks (90 and 200 cm) with clothes-pins. No less than ten volunteers were always walking around the pool side constantly for 24 hours to wipe out the oil film. We could not stop this job because new oil balls were always coming in with fresh water indispensable to dolphins. I did it from 8:00 - 20:00 on 16th and 8:00 - 12:30 on 17th. It was not an easy work to keep on walking just like Zen Meditation.

Fortunately, dolphins were there close to me! I could play with them during a short recess. Thus, I was probably happier than most volunteers struggled against the heavy oil itself at the shore. During my hard meditation, I imagined that dolphins made a big jump over the bar which sometimes I had to reach out to wipe the distant oil balls, but they didn't.

I knew that the key word of this accident or disaster was "ENVIRONMENT," different from that of KOBE Earthquake Disaster. But I could not think of the need of such voluntary acts for dolphins until I actually go there, even if I also knew that dolphins were there because I had visited Echizen-Matsushima Aquarium with my children a few years ago and we had enjoyed their fantastic show. Lack of Imagination! ENVIRONMENT is important. OK. For many people, however, the sea is equal to the food and scenery. It is really difficult to imagine that so many living things, not only cute dolphins but also sea urchins, abalones (we eat them in Japan), ... , and us human beings, absolutely depend on the same sea, the same harmonized ENVIRONMENT. In the daily life, everything seems to be controlled for our better life. We should understand, however, that it does not mean we can manipulate the delicate balance or harmony of nature. I hope we are not so satisfied and insensitive to know that.

I felt the same thing when we experienced the KOBE Earthquake Disaster. So many things and so precious things should be sacrificed only to let us know something important. Nevertheless, it gradually wane in our daily life.

Dolphins reminded me something important again. They gave a chance to start something, at least for me!

I appreciate the help and realization of my friends and family for my volunteer act.

重油除去ボランティア - 越前松島水族館／福井県三国町

[Japanese | English]

For Beloved Friends,

１９９７年１月１６・１７日の両日、代休を利用して重油除去ボランティア活動に参加してきた。

海岸線の様子はテレビ報道の通りだったが、ナホトカ号の船首部は、映像で見るよりも遥かに巨大で、海岸からすぐ近くに錆色の船体を横たえていた。大切にしていたものを不注意で壊されてしまったような感じだろうか。事故とはいえ、重油で真っ黒になった浜を目の前にして、どうやって元に戻せるのか、しばし立ちつくしてしまった。

さて、完全防備に身を固め、１６日の７時半頃ボランティア本部で登録を済ませると越前松島水族館に行ってほしいとの要請があった。水族館？と思ったのだが、現地へ行って説明を聞いてようやく理解できた。つまり、水族館のイルカのプールは、海から直接海水を汲み入れているため、表面に油が浮き、イルカに重大な影響を与えているというわけだ。もちろん、少し沖の海底から取水しているから重油の塊が流入するわけではなく、１～数ミリ大の小さなオイルボールが絶え間なく入ってきて、表面で虹色の油膜を作るのだ（海の中も同じ状態だということ）。生後７ヶ月の子イルカがいるため、移動には慎重だったようだが、１７・１８日に須磨水族館などへの移送が決定され、それまでの間、少しでも快適な環境をイルカに提供しようというわけだ。

作業は、２mほどの木の棒に９０cmほどの横木をＴ字型に固定し、これに約８０cm四方の油吸着シートを洗濯挟みで取り付けたものを使って、常時約１０人ほどが２４時間体制でひたすら表面の油を取り続けるというもの（交替要員を含めると１日２０人以上が参加）。私は、１６日は８時～２０時、１７日は８時～１２時半参加したが、まるで禅の修行のようにひたすらプールの周囲を歩き続けるのは結構こたえた（１９日現在もあちこちが筋肉痛）。

ただ、間近にイルカたちがいて、時々は彼らと遊ぶことができたから、海岸でドロドロになって重油と格闘した人達に比べれば慰めは多かっただろう（日頃の行いにはやはり気を付けなければ！）。ちょっと遠くの油を取るためには、棒をぐんと延ばさなくてはならないのだが、そんなとき、ひょっとしてイルカがジャンプしてこの棒を飛び越えるのでは？という幻想にとらわれたのだが、残念ながらドラマは起きなかった。

今回の災害は、神戸のときとは違って、最後は「環境」がキーワードではないかと思っていた。そんな私も、しかも数年前に子供とショーを見た越前松島水族館にイルカがいることを知っていた私も、このような作業の必要性には行ってみるまで気が付かなかった。やっぱり、想像力の欠如だろう。「環境」と言いつつ、やはり海の幸（食べ物）や景観でしかイメージできない。海という調和のとれた環境に全面的に依存している生き物がいる。もちろんかわいいイルカだけではなく、主に海の幸であるウニやアワビもその一員。そしてもう少し輪を広げれば、我々もその一員なわけだが、普段豊かな生活に首まで浸かっている私たちには、確かにすべてが自分たちのいいようにコントロールできているように見えるから、繊細な調和とかバランスということに鈍感になっているのも無理はないのかもしれない。

神戸の時も思ったのだが、私たちが何か大切なことに気づくためにはあまりにも大きな犠牲を必要とする。それなのに、印象は日常の中で徐々に薄らいでいく。それは、確かに現実なのだが、何とかしなければね...

今回、イルカたちの存在は、少なくとも私に、再び大切なことを思い出させてくれた。

様々の形で今回のボランティア活動を支援してくれた友人と家族に感謝する。