The Penghu County Government should abandon time-specific fishing bans in favor of regional restrictions, Penghu Marine Biology Research Center director Justin Hsieh (謝恆毅) said.
From about February to early April each year, a species of small octopus endemic to Penghu, which are apparently still unnamed, gather in the intertidal zone along the Penghu shoreline in preparation for breeding.
However, catching the octopuses has become a popular nightly activity in in parts of the county, such as Baisha Township’s (白沙) Citou (岐頭) and Jhongtun (中屯) villages, and Magong City’s (馬公) Chongguang Borough (重光).
Overfishing has led to concerns not only of extinction of the octopuses, but also that damage to the intertidal zone by fishers poses a threat to all marine species.
Although the Penghu Agriculture and Fisheries Bureau bans fishing for the octopuses for the three-month period, critics say that the restriction has only caused populations to shrink further.
This was the case with bans on collector urchin fishing in the region, critics say, as when the restriction ends on July 1 each year, the species is killed in large numbers.
This year, prices for the octopuses have reportedly reached NT$1,200 per jin (600g).
Some have also questioned the timing of the ban on capturing the octopuses — which lasts from Friday to April 12 this year — saying it allows them to be caught before they have reproduced.
Hsieh said he has approached the county government several times to advise it to adopt a region-specific approach instead, but to no avail.
Fishing practices would only be sustainable if zones are created and fishing is allowed on a rotational basis, he said.
Due to the effects of climate change, the population of the Penghu octopus species has experienced great fluctuations, said Cheng Chen-cheng (城振誠), an associate research fellow at the center who has been studying the species for more than a decade.
The most significant hit to the population occurred after an unusually cold winter in 2008, Cheng said.
Fishers only caught one octopus for every two trips following that winter, he said, adding that years later the catch rate returned to an average of more than 10 per trip.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
RSS