West coast oyster farmers gathered at the legislature yesterday for a one-day national oyster farming summit meeting to discuss sustainability in the coastal seafood farming industry.
The summit came more than three months after the controversial Kuokuang Petrochemical Co naphtha cracker project at the Dacheng Wetlands (大城濕地) in Changhua County was halted in late April.
Changhua Environmental Protection Union president Shy Yueh-Ing (施月英) said support from many people from various walks of life and their creative methods had helped defeat the Kuokuang Petrochemical project.
After thanking everybody for their support in protecting the wetlands, Fangyuan Township (芳苑) Anti-Pollution Self Help Association president Lin Chi-min (林濟民) said that although the farmers and activists knew success would be difficult to achieve, at least they took action and eventually gained the support of many people.
The oyster farmers presented Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) with a certificate of merit, making her an “honorary oyster farmer” in thanks for her years of support in fighting the Kuokuang project.
Halting the project was a crucial turning point in Taiwan’s environmental protection history, Tien said, adding that this was only the first part of the success.
If people began to feel relaxed and neglected to pay attention to wetland protection, then the land would continue to be developed piece by piece, leaving no more healthy wetlands, she said.
The farmers said they would establish an “association for Taiwan oyster farming industry development” to help protect the nation’s coastline.
They also announced a joint declaration, urging the government to help promote the designation of Dacheng Wetlands as an internationally significant wetland and establish oyster farming reserves to protect the sustainability of the seafood farming industry.
The farmers also called on the legislature to pass a wetland act as soon as possible.
A version drafted by environmental protection specialists and activists has been sent to the legislature for review in the next legislative session.
“Although the petrochemical project will not be built in Changhua County, Taiwan’s western coastline is still threatened by development,” Changhua Coast Conservation Action chairman Tsai Chia-yang (蔡嘉揚) said.
The country needs a national land planning act to outline the basic principle of sustainable land use, and it needed to pass the wetland act and coastal act to detail how to protect these areas, Tsai said.
The government still prioritizes manufacturing and industrial development, Tsai said, adding that it should instead be carrying out a thorough investigation of coastal land use and evaluate whether the land is suitable for development.
“I hope the act can be passed in the legislature in the next session,” Tsai said, “because once the coast is destroyed, it will be very hard to recover.”
The oyster farmers also discussed other negative influences on seafood farming, such as pollution from the Formosa Group’s Sixth Naphtha Cracker in Mailiao Township (麥寮), Yunlin County, as well as pollution and planned diversion of water from farm irrigation systems to the Central Taiwan Science Park’s fourth expansion project.
The farmers urged the government to consider current resources and provide sufficient water to farmers and fishermen, instead of introducing more energy consuming industries in the area.
Yunlin County Shallow Waters Aqua-culture Association president Lin Jin-lang (林進郎) said it was necessary to establish a pollution fingerprint data group to keep track of pollution at the coastal areas.
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