Coral reefs off the coast of Pingtung County near Kenting National Park have been hit by the worst coral bleaching in decades, Kenting National Park Headquarters said.
“This could be more severe than the bleaching that occurred during the 1998 El Nino event, because more coral died this time,” conservation official Chen Jung-hsiang (陳榮祥) said.
Coral around the west side of the park’s South Bay, particularly along a 3km stretch between the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant and Maobitou Park (貓鼻頭公園), was the worst hit, Chen said, adding that 30 to 40 percent of the coral in the area has been affected.
Photo: CNA / Kenting National Park Headquarters
The exact number of bleached coral reefs is unknown, Chen said, adding that the worst-hit coral species were acropora and montipora.
Sea temperatures in the area have hovered between 29°C and 31°C since the end of last month, which has caused the bleaching, he said.
Sea temperatures around Kenting usually rise to no more than 29°C in the summer and only parts of the area’s coral reef suffers bleaching, most of which disappears after one week, Chen said, as the condition usually improves once colder water at the bottom of the ocean rises to the surface.
Damage that lasts more than a week can be fatal, he said.
There have been no typhoons or tropical depressions to stir up and bring cool water to the area, and the seabed terrain to the west of South Bay hinders water exchange, so seawater cannot cool down, Chen said.
“The bleaching in 1998 was followed by a typhoon that brought cooler water with it. Less coral died in the 1998 bleaching and those which survived the bleaching recovered in a few years,” he said.
“The situation this year does not look optimistic, because hot weather seems likely to persist for an extended period,” he added.
Coral bleaching was also reported at the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), but its severity is unknown, he said.
The headquarters said it could do nothing about the bleaching, which was caused by environmental changes.
However, it said it is considering imposing a ban on fishing and ensuring the removal of fishing nets from the area — which are a great threat to coral reefs — while officials would work to improve water and soil conservation on land to prevent earth from being washed into to the sea and damaging coral reefs.
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