Four major tributaries of the Keelung River were temporarily closed to the public yesterday for two years to allow wildlife in the waterways a safe environment to develop, according to the Keelung City Government.
Children released more than 7,000 young fish in Yurei Creek (友蚋溪) yesterday morning, hoping they would grow up safely without being disturbed by human activities.
PHOTO: LU HSIEN-HSIU, TAIPEI TIMES
Keelung Deputy Mayor Ko Shui-yuan (柯水源) hosted the ceremony with city councilors Chen Chin-shu (陳金樹) and Chang Keng-hui (張耿輝).
Ko said that the basins of the four creeks -- Yurei, Malingkeng (瑪陵坑溪), Nuannuan (暖暖溪) and Tsaolan (草濫溪) -- would remain closed for two years.
"People are not allowed to capture any wildlife in the closed-off areas," Ko said, adding that violators would be punished with fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$150,000.
Recreational activities will still be allowed by the rivers, officials said.
According to city agricultural officials, this is the first time the city has closed-off rivers. A sharp drop in the population of wildlife in the rivers could be attributed to activities such as netting and shooting fish. Some wildlife have even been exposed to electric shocks, officials said.
The closure of the rivers is strongly supported by the city council, which anticipates that it will bring economic benefits.
In April, city councilors criticized construction sites for building expressways near rivers, blaming such projects for environmental deterioration.
City officials admitted yesterday the lack of adequate police manpower could give dishonest people an opportunity to fish in rivers, although numerous warning signs have been erected.
The Keelung City Rivers Ecological Preservation Association, whose volunteers will inspect the rivers regularly, was created to prevent violations.
Closing rivers to the public to restore ecological systems has become common in Taiwan over the past two decades.
Danayigu Creek (達娜伊谷溪) in Alishan was closed to the public for 10 years, until 1999. Officials said the closure was a success as the once-dying river suffering from overfishing was turned into a waterway full of fish.
A two-year closure of rivers in Chienshih township (尖石鄉), Hsinchu County, ended last month. The success of ecological conservation slightly boosted the local economy.
Currently only 300 tourists a day are allowed to go angling in rivers in Chienshih after paying entry fees of NT$500.
UPGRADE: The Kang Ding-class frigate is replacing its Chaparall missiles with Tien Chien II and Hua Yang VLS, which would provide it with long-range, 360° air defense Taiwan plans to produce 1,200 to 1,376 Hai Chien II missiles (海劍二, Sea Sword II) — also known as TC-2N — to serve as the standard air defense system of the navy’s surface combatant fleet, a source said yesterday. Last week, the Hai Chien II, the naval version of the Tien Kung II missile (天劍二, Sky Sword II), completed a live-fire test in waters off the National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Jiupeng facility (九鵬) in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州). The MIM72 Chaparral and other dated air defense missiles that currently arm Taiwanese ships have inadequate range to combat Chinese
REASONS FOR TRAVEL: An assistant professor said that proposed amendments to penalize drivers if they used drugs overseas would not deter people from traveling People who operate a motor vehicle under the influence of marijuana would have their driver’s license revoked, even if they used the substance while overseas, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday, citing proposed amendments to the Road Traffic Management and Penalty Act (道路交通管理處罰條例). The amendments would also authorize the government to revoke the licenses of people determined to have used Category 1 or Category 2 narcotics, even if they were not operating a vehicle while under the influence of drugs, as well as ban them from taking the license test for three years, the ministry said. People aged 18 or
GLOBALGIVING: ‘ Caving to external pressure is not acceptable for an organization that has cultivated justice reform and human rights for 30 years,’ one NGO said A slew of non-government organizations (NGOs) have withdrawn from the GlobalGiving fundraising platform after it announced it would use “Chinese Taipei” instead of “Taiwan” from next month. The Taiwan Good Rice Association wrote on Facebook on Friday that it was informed on April 28 via a teleconference call of the change, which was made because the platform wanted to operate in China. Taiwan Good Rice is to terminate all cooperative relationships with GlobalGiving in response to the platform’s “unilateral and non-negotiable” decision to remove references to Taiwan, the NGO said. “Taiwan is in the official name of Taiwan Good Rice Association and the
HEAVY WEATHER: Typhoon Jangmi is due to crash straight into the Ryukyus as airlines look to shift flights to larger aircraft or cancel flights to Okinawa entirely Taiwan’s international air carriers announced flight adjustments over the weekend as Typhoon Jangmi is forecast to hit the Ryukyu Islands today and tomorrow. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) upgraded Jangmi from a tropical storm to a typhoon at 8am yesterday, with the eye located 580km south of Naha city. It was moving north at 19kph. Today, China Airlines’ CI-120, CI-121, CI-122 and CI-123 flights between Taoyuan and Naha, Okinawa, have been canceled as well as CI-132 and CI-133 between Kaohsiung and Naha. EVA Air’s BR-112, BR-113, BR-186 and BR-185 flights between Taoyuan and Naha are also canceled. Low-cost carrier Tigerair Taiwan canceled IT-230,
RSS