Factors affecting residents' behavioral intentions for coastal conservation: Case study at Shizugawa Bay, Miyagi, Japan Ryo Sakurai a,n , Takahiro Ota b , Takuro Uehara a , Ken’ichi Nakagami a a College of Policy Science, Ritsumeikan University, 2-150, Iwakuracho, Ibaraki-shi, Osaka 567-8570, Japan b Graduate School of Fisheries Science and Environmental Studies, Nagasaki University,1-14, Bunkyo-machi, Nagasaki-shi, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan article info Article history: Received 19 August 2015 Received in revised form 5 January 2016 Accepted 6 January 2016 Keywords: Behavioral intentions Coastal management Conservation Education Funding systems Sato-umi abstract Stakeholders in coastal areas including fishermen and local residents could manage coastal ecosystems sustainably. However, in Japan, a majority of rural areas including mountainous villages and fishing hamlets are encountering depopulation and aging because of urbanization and an overall decrease of the country's population. This study's objective was to identify factors that affect local residents' behavioral intentions for coastal conservation. A questionnaire survey was conducted of residents living around Shizugawa Bay in Miyagi prefecture in northeast Japan. The findings revealed eleven variables that af- fected respondents’ behavioral intentions to conserve the coastal area; furthermore, there were fourteen variables that affected their behavioral intention to make financial sacrifices. The respondents' will- ingness to know more regarding wildlife had the strongest influence on both of their behavioral in- tentions. Those who were willing to pay for coastal conservation were likely female, younger, had a higher annual household income, and lived farther from Shizugawa Bay. This study proposed that local stakeholders living adjacent to the coastal area could establish a funding system for conservation and sustainable management to which residents primarily living in cities could contribute. & 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Coastal ecosystems could be managed sustainably by stake- holders who include fishermen and local residents who have an understanding of and motivation to take care of these stocks [7,15]. Fishermen and fishing industries are directly involved in harvesting marine resources such as fish and shellfish. Fishermen play the important role of guardians and watch and conserve the coastal area [47]; without fishermen, the coastal sea could be used in a disorderly manner and consequently, could be destroyed. For instance, one case study in Hinase Bay of Okayama prefecture, in the western portion of Japan, revealed that local fishermen suc- ceeded in increasing the fish harvest through sowing eelgrass seeds, which was once depleted by pollution [46]. Furthermore, local residents who utilize coastal ecosystem services through recreation, consumption, employment and other opportunities are also stakeholders in a coastal management; their behaviors and perceptions affect the decision making process ([26], p. 245). Previous studies revealed that both the biodiversity and the pro- ductivity (such as fish harvest) of the coastal area could be in- creased through active human engagement [46], Field Science Education and Research Center of Kyoto University 2011). These coastal areas in which the level of biodiversity and productivity improved through positive interaction of people and the natural environment are called Sato-umi [46]. “Sato” means community, and “umi” means sea in Japanese. The Japanese government has been supporting the concept of Sato-umi and has declared the importance of appropriately protecting these socially and ecolo- gically valuable areas [15]. In Japan, a majority of rural areas including mountainous vil- lages and fishing hamlets are encountering depopulation and aging because of urbanization and an overall decrease of the country's population [20]. In addition, globalization fostered con- sumers to choose cheaper products including the imported fish making it challenging for local fishermen to compete with foreign counterparts [26]. A decline in the number of fishermen and a lack of successors as well as depopulation and aging of the overall society are the largest issues that fishing hamlets in most of the coastal areas in Japan encounter [33]. For example, in the Seto inland sea, rich in fishery products located in the western part of Japan, 0.1% of people living in the coastal area were fishermen (approximately 30,000 people), whereas 99.9%, nearly all 30 million people, were non-fishermen [46]. As this example tells, fishermen compose a very limited number of the local community in many parts of the coastal areas in Japan. In addition, a previous study revealed that Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol Marine Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2016.01.006 0308-597X/& 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. n Corresponding author. E-mail address: ryo223sak@gmail.com (R. Sakurai). Marine Policy 67 (2016) 1–9