An exhibition by underwater photographer Wu Yung-sen (吳永森) to promote marine conservation opened on Friday at SPOT-Taipei Film House.
Greanpeace Taiwan, which is working with Wu, said it hopes the exhibition will garner support for its campaign for the government to pass a marine conservation bill.
Greenpeace and Wu have donated one of his works to the Executive Yuan to call attention to the bill, Greenpeace said on Friday.
Photo: CNA
Wu said that Environmental Jurists Association lawyer Kuo Hung-yi (郭鴻儀) inspired him to hold the exhibition, which runs until Friday next week.
Kuo has said that conservation of the oceans is important, as they become increasingly vital as a carbon sink to offset emissions into the atmosphere.
“Kuo said that when he jumped in the sea he felt great sadness, because the scope of the damage he saw was too great for anyone to solve,” Wu said. “Our only chance to stop the destruction is to act now.”
As a nation of islands, it is imperative that Taiwan enact laws to protect the marine environment, he said.
One of the works featured at the exhibition is a photograph of a dead striped parrotfish Wu took two years ago off Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼), he said.
The fish had died after being trapped in a transparent fishing net, but its eyes still shone brightly, he said.
“Parrotfish are sold throughout Taiwan at markets, but they serve great purpose in the ocean,” he said. “They eat coral and discharge remains, which serve as an important part of the food chain.”
The nation must establish marine conservation areas to protect the ocean’s ecosystem, he said.
Greenpeace Taiwan “Project Ocean” director Tommy Chung (鍾孟勳) has been advocating the marine conservation bill.
A petition he helped organize on Thursday last week reached the signature threshold required for the government to respond, which it must do by Sept. 14.
If the bill passes, the government must monitor the marine environment through patrols and automated equipment, and take action based on its observations, Chung said.
US-born Taiwanese lawyer and environmentalist Robin Winkler (文魯彬), who has for the past 20 years focused on ecological conservation in Taiwan and has expressed support for Greenpeace Taiwan, attended the opening of Wu’s exhibition.
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