Mitten crabs, who have been disappearing due to overfishing and changes to their habitat, have been found laying eggs in rivers in eastern Taiwan, showing that local environmental conditions have improved, the Forestry Bureau’s Hualien Forest District Office said on Saturday.
The endemic Eriocheir formosa species used to live in rivers on the east coast from Yilan County’s Toucheng Township (頭城) to Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿洲), the office said.
The crabs were often seen in the Jialang River (加塱溪) in Hualien’s Fongbin Township (豐濱), but have become scarce over the past few years, with only experienced crabbers able to find them, said Wang Ming-yuan (王明源), a local Amis community elder.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry Bureau’s Hualien Forest District Office
Environmental changes might explain the reduction in their number, Wang said.
The office last year commissioned a survey of ecological changes along the Jialang River, which reported the mitten crabs’ return, office director Yang Jui-fen (楊瑞芬) said.
Adult mitten crabs can lay 80,000 to 170,000 eggs and move from rivers to the ocean to release them, Yang said.
After hatching, the larvae move back to the rivers, where the water is cleaner, she said.
However, construction work at the mouth of the Jialang has made it difficult for larvae to return to upstream areas, while overfishing has also contributed to the decline, she added.
The discovery of mitten crabs with eggs proves the importance of restoring river ecosystems, while construction across rivers should be done with an awareness of animal habitats, Yang said.
Mitten crabs like to stay in rivers with diverse conditions, such as forests, moss and ferns, and sufficient sunlight, which provide an ecosystem that supplies sufficient food, the office said.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,912) for advertisements that exceed its approved business scope, requiring the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license may be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter enforcement of Chinese e-commerce platforms and measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan in response to US President Donald Trump’s heavy tariffs on China. The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee met today to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) said
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
RSS