A planned marine resources museum would be Hualien County’s first national-level museum, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said on Monday.
Hsiao, who has been advocating for the creation of a national-level museum in Hualien, made the remark at a meeting with the county’s maritime businesses.
The National Academy of Marine Research under the Cabinet-level Ocean Affairs Council is overseeing the project to build the museum. It last month awarded the museum design contract to National Sun Yat-sen University, which is expected to finish preliminary planning before the end of this year.
The process of upgrading and transitioning the county’s industries would benefit from a national-level museum, as it would highlight Hualien’s unique character, Hsiao said, adding that it would facilitate the creation of an economic corridor for the maritime and tourism industries on the east coast.
The proposed museum would be built in the port city of Hualien, showcasing and integrating the local scenery, fish market and deep-sea fisheries businesses to its north, as well as the harbor, whale watching tours and the “Blue Highway” (藍色公路) to its south, she said.
The museum would facilitate research and development in biotechnology, agriculture, aquaculture and tourism by working with D Park, the city’s deep-sea industry campus, she added.
Museum planners aim to abide by a consensus from consultations with local residents and businesses, and rely on augmented and virtual reality instead of housing living marine animals, Hsiao said.
Project head Lu Shiau-yun (陸曉筠), a professor of marine environmental engineering at the university, said that the museum’s main focus would be ecology, with an emphasis on humanity’s relationship with the environment and sustainable development.
Planners have involved the community in the project and would continue to foster a communal identity, she said.
Part of the museum’s funding is to be used to build a low structure in D Park’s south that would not disrupt the scenery, she added.
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