The abnormal cold spell of the past several weeks has had such a devastating impact on the fishery industry in the Penghu island chain that it could take years for the industry to fully recover.
The subtropical Penghu island group, also known as the Pescadores, is located about 50km west of Taiwan proper. The archipelago consists of 90 islands, only 19 of which are inhabited. The area is rich in fishery resources and has been termed a "paradise for scuba divers."
The recent cold weather, with temperatures dipping to below 9oC, has caused massive damage to both the marine ecology in Penghu's coastal waters and the local net cage fish farming industry.
PHOTO: LIU YU-CHING, TAIPEI TIMES
During a beach cleaning campaign led by Penghu County Commissioner Wang Chien-fa (
Members of the Penghu Scuba Diving Association who examined the coastal waters around Makung Island (
Association president Cheng Cheng-kang (
Cheng said he was worried that as the temperature begins to rise, the high nutrient levels in the water could cause algal blooms, which could lead to a red tide, with toxins from the algae contaminating marine life and posing a hazard to human health.
Tsai Wann-sheng (
With the risk for a red tide a real one, Tsai urged Environmental Protection Bureau officials to closely monitor the quality of seawater around Penghu's coasts and to take necessary precautionary measures to prevent algal blooms.
Chen Ying-nan (陳英男), chairman of the Department of Aquaculture at National Penghu University, said the adverse impact on Penghu's marine ecology would be felt for the next couple of years, although the exact magnitude of the catastrophe had yet to be assessed.
"We expect ... the ocean to use the power of nature to repair itself," he said.
Meanwhile, statistics compiled by the Penghu County Government showed that the cold spell had killed more than 1,500 tonnes, or over 80 percent, of the fish yields in the county's net cage fish farms, with losses totaling more than NT$180 million (US$5.75 million). Cobia, a high-value cage culture species, was the most affected.
If shellfish are included, the total damage is estimated to exceed 3,000 tonnes.
Cheng Ming-yuan (
Another NT$167 million would be needed to provide natural disaster relief and low-interest emergency loans to fish farmers in order to help them get back on their feet, he said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to