The Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) should do more to protect Taiwanese humpback dolphins, as pollution threatens the critically endangered species, New Power Party Chairwoman Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) said on Thursday.
People should be aware not only of the cause of death of a dolphin found in Tainan’s Anping Harbor (安平港) on Monday, but the dangers that the marine animals face, National Taiwan University School of Veterinary Medicine associate professor Yang Wei-cheng (楊瑋誠) said.
More than 80 percent of the dolphins monitored for a study had scars indicating that they had been trapped or caught in netting or wiring, while 60 percent also had lesions, Yang said.
Photo: CNA
The agency is looking into the cause of the Tainan dolphin’s death, agency Deputy Director-General Wu Long-jing (吳龍靜) said, adding that any decrease in the dolphin population is a terrible loss.
The agency is stepping up conservation measures for Taiwanese Indo-Pacific humpback dolphins by analyzing the threats they face, increasing monitoring and research, protecting the animal’s habitat, mitigating human effects on their habitat and improving local conservation efforts, he said.
Last year, the OCA worked with the Fisheries Agency in a program to purchase old nets in hopes of decreasing the amount of netting or other fishing waste dumped into the sea, he said.
The OCA has also been monitoring water quality, Wu said, adding that the water quality around the dolphins’ habitat is satisfactory.
It is still considering whether to expand an area marked as an important habitat for dolphins, he said.
The OCA has stretched its review parameters as far north as New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水) and as far south as Tainan, he said.
Its conservation plan is constantly changing based on its research, Wu said.
It has established a panel, which includes experts, to provide suggestions on how to improve dolphin conservation, he said.
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