The government has designated 14 angling areas in commercial seaports across the nation and ensured their safety in compliance with the Executive Yuan’s “salute to the seas” policy, the Port and Maritime Bureau said yesterday.
Eighteen fishing accidents happened in commercial seaports in the past five years, bureau data showed.
Eight people were killed, eight were injured and two were reported missing in those accidents, the data showed.
The Port of Taichung had the highest number of fishing accidents, in which two people were killed and seven were injured, they showed.
The Port of Taichung’s north breakwater area — a habitat for a wide variety of fish — has drawn more than 58,000 fishing enthusiasts since its opening in October last year as the nation’s demonstration area for recreational fishing, Bureau Deputy Director-General Chen Pin-chuan (陳賓權) said.
It is crucial that the bureau keeps such locations safe for all angling enthusiasts, he said.
Chen said the bureau has inspected 14 designated fishing areas in all commercial seaports and implemented safety measures, including setting up warning signs and making sure that lifebuoys and ropes are available.
To manage the Port of Taichung’s north breakwater area more effectively, the bureau has entrusted the Taiwan Fishermens’ Association with the task of maintaining the safety there, Chen said.
The association has also launched an awareness campaign on the importance of conserving oceanic resources by issuing an eco-friendly fishing ID card and a manual on sustainable fishing at the Port of Taichung, he said.
For their own safety, fishers are advised to wear life jackets and other protective gear, and monitor the waves and sea weather reports, the bureau said.
A total lunar eclipse coinciding with the Lantern Festival on March 3 would be Taiwan’s most notable celestial event this year, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said, urging skywatchers not to miss it. There would be four eclipses worldwide this year — two solar eclipses and two lunar eclipses — the museum’s Web site says. Taiwan would be able to observe one of the lunar eclipses in its entirety on March 3. The eclipse would be visible as the moon rises at 5:50pm, already partly shaded by the Earth’s shadow, the museum said. It would peak at about 7:30pm, when the moon would
Taiwan’s Li Yu-hsiang performs in the men’s singles figure skating short program at the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, on Tuesday. Li finished 24th with a score of 72.41 to advance to Saturday’s free skate portion of the event. He is the first Taiwanese to qualify for the free skate of men’s singles figure skating at the Olympics since David Liu in 1992.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday held a ceremony marking the delivery of its 11th Anping-class offshore patrol vessel Lanyu (蘭嶼艦), saying it would boost Taiwan’s ability to respond to Beijing’s “gray zone” tactics. Ocean Affairs Council Deputy Minister Chang Chung-Lung (張忠龍) presided over the CGA event in the Port of Kaoshiung. Representatives of the National Security Council also attended the event. Designed for long-range and protracted patrol operations at sea, the Lanyu is a 65.4m-long and 14.8m-wide ship with a top speed of 44 knots (81.5kph) and a cruising range of 2,000 nautical miles (3704km). The vessel is equipped with a
DEFENSE: The US should cancel the US visas or green cards of relatives of KMT and TPP lawmakers who have been blocking the budget, Grant Newsham said A retired US Marine Corps officer has suggested canceling the US green cards and visas of relatives of opposition Taiwanese lawmakers who have been stalling the review of a proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget. The Executive Yuan has proposed the budget for major weapons purchases over eight years, from this year to 2033. However, opposition lawmakers have refused to review the proposal, demanding that President William Lai (賴清德) first appear before the Legislative Yuan to answer questions about the proposed budget. On Thursday last week, 37 bipartisan US lawmakers sent a letter to Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), the heads
RSS