An environmental protection fee of NT$60 is to be charged for access to three intertidal zones on Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球) starting on July 1, the Pingtung County Government announced on Tuesday.
The three protected zones of Shanfu (杉福), Yucheng Wei (漁埕尾) and Duozaiping (肚仔坪) are to charge a fee for visitors, the county said in a news release.
The funds would be used for ecological preservation and restoration efforts, including the promotion of responsible tourism, staff training and ecological surveys, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government
Access would also be limited to 300 visitors at a time along designated paths, except for Dec. 1 to March 31 every year when the areas are closed to tourists, it added.
The zones are also closed from 8pm to 5am from April 1 to June 15 for breeding season, while guided nighttime visits using only red lights are available from June 16 to Nov. 30, it said.
Chen Wen-yu (陳文玉), director of an ecological tourism association on Siaoliouciou, said that he has seen tourism to the island explode in recent years, causing environmental harm.
The new fee could help to protect sensitive areas as well as improve the experience for visitors, leading to a win-win situation, Chen said.
A survey last year by National Sun Yat-sen University marine affairs professor Eric Chang (張水鍇) found that the population of large invertebrates in the three zones is only 43 percent of what it was in 2014.
Although their numbers have increased 12 percent from 2020, the recovery is slow, the survey found.
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