Rare Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins have been spotted in the waters off northern Taiwan, reports said yesterday.
The dolphins, which vary in color from dark grey to white and even bright pink, normally prefer shallow waters and can grow up to 2.8m long.
"These dolphins live in the waters around China and Hong Kong, but have also appeared near Taiwan," said Lee Ming-hua (
"Their numbers have been dwindling steadily due to pollution and destruction of habitat."
Lee said that over the past six years, four of the species were found stranded in northern Taiwan and the offshore island of Kinmen, but only one had been successfully returned to the ocean.
Local media reported the sighting of three Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphins this week, some 200m off the coast of Miaoli County.
A rare visitor to Taiwan, less than 1000 hump-backed dolphins are believed to be left in China's Pearl River Delta, including Hong Kong, according to an environmentalist at the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation in Hong Kong.
The Pearl River joins the sea between Hong Kong and Macau, after draining an area holding roughly one-eighth of China's population, bringing industrial effluent, municipal waste, and agricultural runoff.
Little was known about the dolphins until the early 1990s, when seabed reclamation and construction of Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok airport began.
Campaigners at the World Wide Fund for Nature Hong Kong brought media attention to the plight of the dolphins, prompting the Hong Kong Government to provide funds for extensive research into the marine mammals.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS