Fig. 2.

Observation transects (black narrow solid lines) in the East China Sea during the research cruises (KT10-1, KT11-1, and KT12-1), seaweed rafts (red closed circles), and stranded rafts (a green circle or a solid line). The water between the two blue solid lines is the main stream of the Kuroshio Current as estimated by the 11th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters (2010, 2011, 2012). Numbers on the maps are rafts within the effective stripe width. Dates on the maps indicate when the transect observations were undertaken. a 2010, b 2011, and c 2012