A study unveiled at the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday showed that between 39 and 42 Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins inhabit an area of sea near the coast of Yunlin County, but that they were rare near a controversial naphtha cracker.
The meeting was to review a project investigating the ecology of an endangered dolphin species that was commissioned by Formosa Plastics Group Environmentalists have long questioned whether the Formosa Petrochemical’s Sixth Naphtha Cracker plant in Mailiao (麥寮) might cause harm to dolphins in the nearby area.
Project convener Chou Lien-siang (周蓮香), a professor at National Taiwan University’s College of Life Science, said that during boat observations over a distance of 6,609km and spanning 585 hours, the research team spotted Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins on 72 boat trips among a total of 102 trips made in the past three years.
She said the southern part of Yunlin’s coastline, especially near the mouth of Sinhuwei River (新虎尾溪), is a hot spot in which 90 percent of the dolphins were found, with several mother and child pairs.
Chou’s team said dolphins were rarely found in the northern part of Yunlin’s coastline, where the plant is located, and the team suspects that might be caused by the plant’s water emissions changing the pH level of the seawater.
“We discovered that the pH level of the seawater has an effect on the dolphin’s feeding behavior. Therefore, we suggest that the pH level of the nearby ocean area, its habitat, should be maintained above pH8,” Chou said.
“As for noise pollution from boats, we suggest that the speed limit should be under 6 knots,” Chou said.
The meeting concluded that Formosa Plastics Group has to come up with dolphin conservation plans for future expansion projects.
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
The Taipei Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS