Some 600 residents of the town of Takaki, Nagasaki Prefecture, adopted a resolution Saturday demanding the completion of a state-run reclamation project in Isahaya Bay and stating their opposition to the opening of a dike in the bay.
At a meeting held in the town the residents chanted "Don't open the drainage gate" and "Complete the reclamation project soon."
The residents intend to hand the resolution to Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshio Yatsu.
Earlier this month, the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry and the Nagasaki Prefectural Government, which also opposes opening the gates, agreed to suspend most reclamation work in the area to test the quality of water in the reservoir as part of an investigation into the causes of this year's poor seaweed crop in the area.
Local seaweed farmers, whose livelihoods have been severely damaged by the poor seaweed harvest, have been demanding the opening of the gates to revive the local ecological system.
At the meeting, Isahaya Mayor Kunio Yoshitsugu said the poor seaweed crop is a problem in the entire Ariake Sea.
Isahaya Bay is part of the Ariake Sea, an almost landlocked body of water surrounded by the prefectures of Nagasaki, Kumamoto, Saga and Fukuoka.