Fishermen frown on whale watchers

The maiden voyage yesterday of a new whale-watching boat in Taitung County hopes to launch a new era of tourism in eastern Taiwan despite claims it will harm the local fishing industry.

The newly-licensed 20-ton whale-watching boat, the Jin-ling (晉領號), set off yesterday from Chengkung port (成功), a fishing town an hour's drive from Taitung.

The venture is the first whale-watching operation in Chengkung and is being run by town residents.

"I think it's time to transform the fishing town into a tourist site," said the Jin-ling's owner, Chen Kun-lung (陳坤龍), who has invested more than NT$10 million in the boat alone.

Chen said that the Jin-ling is the biggest whale-watching vessel in Taitung County, and should attract tourists from all over southern Taiwan.

"People living in Kaohsiung or Pingtung don't have to fly to Keelung or Hualien anymore to see whales and dolphins," said Chen. "Here on the east coast in Taitung there are also abundant ocean resources to enjoy," he added.

Chen said 17 different recorded species of whales and dolphins could be seen in the waters near Chengkung port.

Residents said killer whales are a common sight around the port.

Passengers on the Jin-ling's first trip yesterday met a school of Risso's dolphins (花紋海豚) who played in the water near the boat.

Not everyone in Chengkung, however, is thrilled by the new recreational activity.

Some local fishermen think the whale-watching boat will bring local people trouble rather than a prosperous future.

"The main reason is that we don't have much space at the port," said Lee Lung-jung (李隆榮), the chairman of the Hsinkang Fishermen's Association (新港區漁會)

"The more tourism develops, the less space fishermen can use. We welcome the growth of the tourism industry, but not under these circumstances -- that is, not until we can expand the port," Lee said.

He explained that over 100 boats share limited space in the crowded port every day.

Even on the land around the port, he said, there is virtually no space for whale-watching facilities to run their businesses because cold storage and seafood processing plants use all the available space.

Lee said he and other fishermen worry that the shipping lanes running into and out of the port are too narrow to share with recreational boats.

But government officials say the development of tourism offers a promising future for Chengkung, especially since the town's population has been dropping off rapidly in recent years.

"The Jin-ling could be an important index for the potential of the development of whale-watching tourism in Taitung," said Lin Fang-ming (林芳明), director of the East Coast National Scenic Area Administration under the Ministry of Transportation.

Lin said that in order to resolve space problems, several mobile docks for recreational boats will be added to Chengkung port by March next year.

"I believe that the Jin-ling will help turn Chengkung into a tourist destination for whale-watching and for other kinds of sightseeing," added Lin.