Flora and fauna
Permission for collecting herbs on three of the islands was recorded in an Imperial Chinese edict of 1893.
Uotsuri-shima, the largest island, has a number of endemic species such as the Senkaku Mole (Mogera uchidai) and Okinawa-kuro-oo-ari ant.
Due to the introduction of domestic goats to the island in 1978, the Senkaku mole is now an endangered species.
Albatross are observed in the islands. Amongst all islands, Minami Kojima is one of the few breeding places of the rare Short-tailed Albatross (Phoebastria albatrus).