When a Taiwan humpback dolphin was found dead on the beach in Miaoli County in September, drowned by a fishing net, it sparked a campaign calling on the government to revoke permission for a controversial fishing project in the waters off the west coast.
“[Monday] marked the first day of the International Year of Biodiversity launched by the UN … We have repeatedly appealed against the pair trawling fishing project, but the Fisheries Agency [under the Council of Agriculture] never listened,” said Robin Winkler, founder of the Taiwan Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association.
Winkler, together with other members of an alliance to save the dolphin, a kind of Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin listed as a “critically endangered” species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, yesterday filed their petition at the Executive Yuan.
After speaking with Hsiao Hsiu-chin (蕭秀琴), deputy of the fifth division of the Executive Yuan, the activists failed to enlist the Executive Yuan’s support for their petition.
“The Executive Yuan will not intervene in the case as it is within the jurisdiction of the Fisheries Agency to decide whether to cancel its experimental research project. We hope that the Fisheries Agency will hold a public hearing on the issue,” Hsiao said.
Under the project, the agency says it hopes to collect data on the maturity and spawning period of major fish species in the area, as well as the body length and weight of each species.
With this information, it says it can decide when to impose a ban on fishing and set a minimum mesh size for nets.
The project, which began in early September, will last for a year, with 42 high-speed pair trawling fishing vessels operating in waters between 3 nautical miles (5.6km) and 12 nautical miles from the west coast between Taichung and Tainan.
“The pair-trawling fishing activity carried out by two high-speed boats catches almost all marine species as the net is about 500m to 600m in length and 30m to 40m in depth. Humpback dolphins are often caught by accident,” said Pan Han-shen (潘翰聲), spokesman for the Taiwan Green Party.
“If the project was conducted to collect data, the government should allow just one vessel. Permitting the operation of 42 vessels is tantamount to breaking the rule that waters within twelve miles of the coast are off limits to fishing,” Pan said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) urged the Executive Yuan to override the permission granted by the Fisheries Agency as pair trawling would seriously destroy marine biodiversity.
“Many countries prohibit such activities in coastal waters, including Japan and even China. What kind of country is Taiwan to permit it under the excuse of ‘doing research?’” she said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
RSS