A Canadian scientist dedicated to the preservation of aquatic mammals urged the Taiwan government yesterday to take immediate action to protect an isolated and endangered population of dolphins that is found only in the eastern Taiwan Strait.
Peter Ross, a marine mammal toxicologist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans in Canada, made the call at a press conference held in Taipei by Taiwanese environmental protection advocates, including Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇).
Ross is visiting Taiwan to attend this year’s two-day Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Roundtable Meeting on the Involvement of Business/Private Sector in Sustainability of the Marine Environment, which opened on Tuesday in Taipei.
Along with other international and local academics, Ross organized the Eastern Taiwan Strait Sousa Technical Advisory Working Group to provide expert advice, guidance and scrutiny on conservation issues concerning Taiwan’s remaining Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins, known by the scientific name of Sousa chinensis.
The dolphins, which are white in color and endemic to Taiwan, were discovered in 2002 off the west coast of the nation. Last month, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) listed the species as critically endangered after research found that the population of dolphins had dropped to less than 100.
Ross said the species might soon become extinct if it is not properly protected.
There would be no vibrant economy if the oceans are not healthy, and there would be no healthy oceans if there are no healthy dolphins, the scientist said, referring to the plight of the coastal dolphins as a signal from Heaven to the Taiwanese people.
Ross urged the Taiwanese government to list the dolphin’s habitat as a preservation zone as soon as possible and to prohibit any kind of development there.
The humpback dolphins are called “Matsu Fish” by local fishermen because they are usually seen between March and April off the western coast when the northeasterly monsoons weaken and the birthday of Matsu, the goddess of the Sea, is celebrated in Taiwan.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
China Airlines Ltd (CAL) yesterday morning joined SkyTeam’s Aviation Challenge for the fourth time, operating a demonstration flight for “net zero carbon emissions” from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport to Bangkok. The flight used sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) at a ratio of up to 40 percent, the highest proportion CAL has achieved to date, the nation’s largest carrier said. Since April, SAF has become available to Taiwanese international carriers at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Kaohsiung International Airport and Taoyuan airport. In previous challenges, CAL operated “net zero carbon emission flights” to Singapore and Japan. At a ceremony at Taoyuan airport, China Airlines chief sustainability
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS