A Penghu official this week submitted a proposal calling on the Penghu National Scenic Area Administration to remove a new coastal boardwalk in Husi Township (湖西), saying the structure is an obstacle to green sea turtles that lay eggs in the area.
Penghu County Councilor Chen Hui-lin (陳慧玲) of the Democratic Progressive Party cited a study conducted in the area that blamed low hatch rates of the endangered species this year on the boardwalk and recommended that the administration remove the structure.
Chen said that the boardwalk, which runs from Aimen Beach (隘門) to Lintou Beach (林投), is an impassable barrier to green sea turtles and led to many laying their clutches in nearby mangroves, which can be submerged at high tide, reducing the survival rate of hatchlings.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
The hatching rate this year for green sea turtle eggs in the area was less than 50 percent, which the researchers said was abnormally low, according to Chen.
Eight clutches were counted on Lintou Beach this year, while there were more than 50 throughout Penghu, meaning 3,000 to 3,500 eggs, according to a conservative estimate, Chen said.
Since green sea turtles return to the same location every two to three years to lay eggs, the walkway should be remodeled with a bypass for the turtles, or taken down completely before their return, Chen said.
Photo: Liu Yu-ching, Taipei Times
The proposal was passed by the council and a formal request to remove the walkway was forwarded through the Penghu County Government to the Penghu National Scenic Area Administration.
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
Tropical Storm Fung-Wong would likely strengthen into a typhoon later today as it continues moving westward across the Pacific before heading in Taiwan’s direction next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 8am, Fung-Wong was about 2,190km east-southeast of Cape Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving westward at 25kph and possibly accelerating to 31kph, CWA data showed. The tropical storm is currently over waters east of the Philippines and still far from Taiwan, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said, adding that it could likely strengthen into a typhoon later in the day. It is forecast to reach the South China Sea
WEATHER Typhoon forming: CWA A tropical depression is expected to form into a typhoon as early as today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, adding that the storm’s path remains uncertain. Before the weekend, it would move toward the Philippines, the agency said. Some time around Monday next week, it might reach a turning point, either veering north toward waters east of Taiwan or continuing westward across the Philippines, the CWA said. Meanwhile, the eye of Typhoon Kalmaegi was 1,310km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, as of 2am yesterday, it said. The storm is forecast to move through central
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
RSS