At least 4 hectares of algal reefs have been discovered along the coast 2km north of the Sinfong River in Sinfong Township (新豐), Hsinchu County, a discovery academics say is indicative of the biodiversity of the area.
Algal reefs are formed by crystalline calcium carbonates left by dead calcareous algae. They grow just 0.1cm to 0.2cm in thickness per year, and usually share a symbiotic relationship with coral reefs.
Organic reefs are a rare sight on Taiwan’s western coast because it is largely comprised of sandy terrain, and they have only been found on the north coast — an area that includes the coastal area between New Taipei City’s (新北市) Tamsui District (淡水) and Wanli District (萬里) — as well as the coast around Taoyuan County’s Guanyin Township (觀音) and the coastal area around Hengchun Township (恆春) in Pingtung County.
Photo: Liao Hsueh-ju, Taipei Times
When Hsinchu County’s Association for Sustainable Development of Wetlands discovered the possibility of an algal reef north of Sinfong last year, it contacted Liou Ching-yu (劉靜榆), of the Council of Agriculture’s Endemic Species Research Institute, to confirm the findings.
The association was established in February 2010 after the Hsinchu County Government — as well as the Sinfong Township Office — became determined to protect Sinfong’s mangroves.
The association had started training staff for tours and enhancing environmental protection education programs in nearby schools, said association chairman Tai Yu-shu (戴玉樹), who is Sinfong’s representative.
Thanks to a subsidy from the Construction and Planning Administration, the association was able to begin documenting the fauna in the area as well as enforcing the protection of the environment, Tai said.
The association also started a tourist service desk in January to provide information for tourists during holidays, Tai said.
The reef was discovered by association members who had noticed a great diversity of fish in the area, said Lee Chen-yu (李鎮宇), the association’s executive officer.
There were fish with high economic value such as the flathead mullet and yellow croakers, and other types of fish that are only found in coral reefs, Lee said, adding that further investigation showed there was an algal reef nearby.
The algal reef has conservatively been estimated to cover at least 4 hectares, stretching along the coast north of the Sinfong River to the beaches south of Potou Fishing Harbor, Lee said.
Sediment drifts and rocks moved by tidal forces may have covered most of the algal reef from sight, Lee said, adding that it could be as large as 6 hectares or 7 hectares.
However, there is only about a 1 percent chance of the reef being “alive,” Lee said.
Meanwhile, environmental protection groups in Taoyuan County are campaigning to establish a natural reserve for new algal reef formations.
The organization held a press conference with legislators yesterday, demanding that the central government launch an investigation into what seems like industrial waste water contamination that they say is harming algal reefs.
The organization said it sponsored a hike last month to help promote the establishment of a preserve for algal reefs.
China has reserved offshore airspace in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported yesterday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. These alerts, known as Notice to Air Missions (Notams), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert is
NAMING SPAT: The foreign ministry called on Denmark to propose an acceptable solution to the erroneous nationality used for Taiwanese on residence permits Taiwan has revoked some privileges for Danish diplomatic staff over a Danish permit that lists “Taiwan” as “China,” Eric Huang (黃鈞耀), head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Department of European Affairs, told a news conference in Taipei yesterday. Reporters asked Huang whether the Danish government had responded to the ministry’s request that it correct the nationality on Danish residence permits of Taiwanese, which has been listed as “China” since 2024. Taiwan’s representative office in Denmark continues to communicate with the Danish government, and the ministry has revoked some privileges previously granted to Danish representatives in Taiwan and would continue to review
More than 6,000 Taiwanese students have participated in exchange programs in China over the past two years, despite the Mainland Affairs Council’s (MAC) “orange light” travel advisory, government records showed. The MAC’s publicly available registry showed that Taiwanese college and university students who went on exchange programs across the Strait numbered 3,592 and 2,966 people respectively. The National Immigration Agency data revealed that 2,296 and 2,551 Chinese students visited Taiwan for study in the same two years. A review of the Web sites of publicly-run universities and colleges showed that Taiwanese higher education institutions continued to recruit students for Chinese educational programs without
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
RSS