The Northeast and Yilan Coast National Scenic Area Management Office is to enforce a strict border between Longdong Bay (龍洞灣) in New Taipei City’s Gongliao District (貢寮) and nearby fishing areas by the end of the year to prevent further dispute between fishers and tourists, it said yesterday.
The bay has become a popular destination for diving and stand-up paddle boarding, leading to confrontations between tourists and fishers, the office said.
Local fisher Lee tien-sheng (李天生) said that his ship’s propellers almost hit a diver who did not notice that there was a boat crossing the waters when they surfaced.
Photo: Lin Hsin-han, Taipei Times
Lee said he now always has a crew member at the prow on the lookout when his ship is going in and out of the harbor.
Longdong Community Development Association director Chang Tzu-chiang (張自強) said that diving centers were encouraging their customers to dive in local fishing areas, posing a danger to fishers and divers alike.
The government needs to enact measures to help keep tourists and fishers safe, he said.
Several diving centers disagreed, saying the waters were not the sole property of fishers.
A number of divers said that abandoned drag nets on the seafloor are a hazard to divers and the environment, adding that they do not understand why fishers are still operating in the area when there is little to no fish.
After holding a discussion with experts, local authorities, tourist attraction owners and representatives of the public, the management office said that it would by the end of the year enforce a border separating the Longdong Bay area and fishing areas.
A consensus was reached at the meeting that the office would ask tourist and fishing boats to equip their vessels with GPS devices to tell them their location and observe boundaries.
Experts are to tender an official proposal after observing local weather and sea conditions, the office added.
New Taipei City Legislator Lin Yi-chi (林裔綺) said that she hoped the office would collaborate with the Coast Guard Administration, the Fisheries Agency and local township offices when discussing details for implementation.
She also called on authorities to step up patrols and dissemination of information to tell tourists, tourism companies and fishers about the new boundaries.
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