Whale and dolphin conservationists and agricultural officials called for responsible whale-watching yesterday, urging whale watchers to fill in questionnaires to better examine the impact such sightseeing activities may have on marine ecology.
Thousands of copies of whale-watching questionnaires will be made available at ports this summer for whale watchers to record related information that will be included in comprehensive research.
The Taiwan Cetacean Society, a private whale and dolphin conservation group, last year handed out about 10,000 questionnaires at ports in eastern Taiwan but only received 608 response. The questionnaire drive was sponsored by the Council of Agriculture (COA) and KMT-founded organizations.
PHOTO: TAIWAN CETACEAN SOCIETY
This year, the organization is sending out more questionnaires in a bid to gather more information about whale-watching activities in Taiwan.
According to a survey by Chou Lien-hsiang (周蓮香), the society's head and a Zoologist at National Taiwan University, at least 27 species of whale and dolphin have been sighted in Taiwan's waters.
"The more responses we receive, the better we can understand whale-watching's impact on marine ecology," Chou said at a press conference yesterday.
Some 30 whale-watching boats are now operating in Taiwan's waters, but sometimes they get too close to the animals and injure them.
The lack of whale-watching regulation in Taiwan is worrying, Chou said.
"We have to gather more information before drafting related regulations," said Lee Mong-chi (李孟頎), a coastal fisheries official from the COA.
"This year we will hand out questionnaires with added assistance from local governments," Lee said
The increase in whale-watching boats in eastern Taiwan coincides with a period of decline in the fishing industry.
Taiwan's eastern fishery counties of Ilan, Hualien and Taitung have all become popular venues for whale-watchingsince 1997, when the first such sightseeing businesses opened.
In southern Taiwan, some travel agencies have devoted themselves to exploring new whale-watching areas along the southwestern coast hoping to attract whale watchers in their areas.
The maiden voyage of the first whale-watching boat in southern Taiwan is to take place next week at Houpihu Port (後壁湖港) near Kenting (墾丁), Pingtung County.
Ting Yung-chih (丁勇智), a Kaohsiung-based travel agent, described to the Taipei Times yesterday the diversity of whales and dolphins in southwestern waters.
The area is home to bottlenose dolphins, Risso's dolphins and false killer whales, Ting said, adding, "sometimes rare sperm whales and humpback whales are also seen."
"We're changing the reputation of Pingtung fishermen from that of whale killers to cetacean-conservationists," Ting said
Ting added that Pingtung was once the main base in Taiwan for catching and killing whales and dolphins between 1913 and 1969.
The Legislative Yuan did not enact legislation to ban the slaughter of dolphins until 1990.
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