A young bull shark captured last month off the coast of Jhukeng Village (竹坑) in Pingtung County might be an indication of a school inhabiting near-shore waters off the nation’s most crowded beaches in Kenting (墾丁).
The shark was trapped by a fixed shore net and was slightly injured only 20km from a popular beach in Kenting. The shark is now living in a tank at the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium.
The shark was the latest of five bull shark sightings in Pingtung over the past four years, with the sighting of a 2.5m bull shark in July last year and four bull sharks reported off Checheng Township (車城) in 2011, the Kenting National Park Administration said
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The administration said an unconfirmed shark sighting was reported at South Bay (南灣) in 2012.
Known for its aggressiveness, bull sharks, along with great white sharks and tiger sharks, are one of the three shark species most likely to attack humans, shark biologist Wang Kai-ting (王凱霆) said.
The bull shark is known to grow up to 3m in length and weigh more than 300kg and has a history of biting humans worldwide, Wang said.
The shark at the aquarium measures 1m in length and weights 30kg and has been recovering well, Wang said, adding that it is the first bull shark ever raised and exhibited in Taiwan.
Bull sharks are rarely seen in the nation’s waters and are mostly seen on the east coast, Wang said.
Wang has been tracking the shark population off the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) in Pingtung County for years and had detected adult bull sharks in 2011 without making a capture, he said.
Fish farming developed in the county since Typhoon Morakot in 2009 might be what attracts the bull sharks, Wang said, adding that the presence of adult and young sharks might be evidence of a larger population, and authorities must exercise caution to prevent potential shark attacks, he said.
The aquarium’s marine biologist Ho Hsuan-ching (何宣慶), however, said that the presence of a young shark is not a substantial indicator of a colony, as bull sharks are independent immediately after birth and the captured shark might be based elsewhere.
Among the tourist beaches near Checheng and Jhukeng are Haiko Beach (海口沙灘), within a 5km radius from where sharks have been spotted; South Bay and Houpihu (後壁湖) within 20km; and Siaowan (小灣) and Chuanfan Rock Beach (船帆石沙灘) within 30km, the administration said.
There has been no confirmed shark sighting in waters surrounding Kenting for nearly two decades, the administration said, adding that people should report suspected shark sightings to authorities.
INCREASED CAPACITY: The flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays would leave Singapore in the morning and Taipei in the afternoon Singapore Airlines is adding four supplementary flights to Taipei per week until May to meet increased tourist and business travel demand, the carrier said on Friday. The addition would raise the number of weekly flights it operates to Taipei to 18, Singapore Airlines Taiwan general manager Timothy Ouyang (歐陽漢源) said. The airline has recorded a steady rise in tourist and business travel to and from Taipei, and aims to provide more flexible travel arrangements for passengers, said Ouyang, who assumed the post in July last year. From now until Saturday next week, four additional flights would depart from Singapore on Monday, Wednesday, Friday
WATCH FOR HITCHHIKERS: The CDC warned those returning home from Japan to be alert for any contagious diseases that might have come back with them People who have returned from Japan following the World Baseball Classic (WBC) games during the weekend are recommended to watch for symptoms of infectious gastroenteritis, flu and measles for two weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. Flu viruses remain the most common respiratory pathogen in Taiwan in the past four weeks and the influenza B virus accounted for 55.7 percent of the tested cases, exceeding the percentage of influenza A (H3N2) infections and becoming the local dominant strain, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said at a news conference on Tuesday. There were 82,187 hospital visits for
Taiwan’s three major international carriers are increasing booking fees, with EVA Airways having already increased the charge to US$28 per flight segment from US$25, while China Airlines (CAL) and Starlux Airlines are set to follow suit. Booking fees are charged by airlines through a global distribution system (GDS) and passed on to passengers. Carriers that apply the fees include CAL, EVA, Starlux and Tigerair Taiwan. A GDS is a computerized network operated by a company that connects airlines with travel agents and ticketing platforms, allowing reservations to be made and processed in real time. Major players include Amadeus, Sabre and Travelport. EVA Air began
Alumni from Japan’s Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School marching band, widely known as the “Orange Devils,” staged a flash mob performance at the Grand Hotel in Taipei yesterday to thank Taiwan for its support after the Great East Japan Earthquake. The show, performed on the earthquake’s 15th anniversary, drew more than 100 spectators, some of whom arrived two hours before the show to secure a good viewing spot. The 26-member group played selections from “High School Musical,” “Beauty and the Beast,” and their signature piece “Sing Sing Sing” and shouted “I love
RSS