While an Oscar award-winning documentary has recently put Japan in hot water over its dolphin hunting, Taiwan’s endangered white dolphins are on the verge of extinction because their natural habitat is disappearing as a result of severe environmental degradation, a wildlife conservationist said on Sunday.
Gan Chen-yi (甘宸宜), secretary of the non-profit Matsu’s Fish Conservation Union, said the number of white dolphins, also known as Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins — a species listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “critically endangered” in 2008 — now stands at only between 60 and 90 off the west coast.
“The Taiwanese white dolphin might become extinct within 10 years if industrial development near the estuary of the Jhuoshuei River (濁水溪) is not halted,” said Gan, who doubles as secretary of the Taiwan Environmental Protection Union.
Gan said there was previously believed to be approximately 200 of the mammals about 3km to 5km off the west coast between Miaoli and Tainan counties between 2004 and 2006.
That number had fallen to no more than 100 by 2007, indicating that various industrial and harbor development projects along the western coastline have seriously polluted the dolphin’s natural habitat, Gan said.
“The issue is becoming even more pressing, as the north side of the Jhuoshuei River estuary between the counties of Changhua and Yunlin has been zoned as a development area for a new naphtha cracking plant,” she said.
She called on the public to purchase public land near the estuary and put that land into trust in an effort to protect the critically endangered species.
Meanwhile, Tung Gene-sheng (董景生), chairman of the Taipei-based Taiwan Environmental Information Center, said his office has invited Oliver Maurice, an official with the International National Trust Organization, to come to Taiwan to help residents buy public land.
Tung said according to the center’s plan, a corridor of 200 hectares of land along the estuary would need to be purchased in the first phase of the project, with each unit of 1m² zoned as one share and selling at a cost of NT$119.
A trust fund would be created through the land sales, Tung said, adding that the drive was expected to take 90 days.
White dolphins have an extremely low birth rate and a life span of 30 to 40 years. It takes 10 to 12 years for them to reach sexual maturity and a female dolphin gives birth only once every three to four years, Tung said.
The humpback dolphins are called “Matsu’s fish” by local fishermen because they are seen most frequently between March and April, when the birthday of Matsu, the Chinese goddess of the sea, is celebrated in Taiwan.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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