Researchers yesterday called for an immediate response to an explosion of crown-of-thorns starfish near the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島), which have eaten more than 90 percent of the coral reefs near an atoll.
A research team from the Taiwanese Coral Reef Society last month instructed divers to eliminate 1,840 of the starfish to prevent further damage.
Society honorary chairman Cheng Ming-hsiu (鄭明修) told a news conference that a starfish outbreak at the Dongsha Atoll, the first oceanic national park in Taiwan, had consumed more than 90 percent of the coral reefs along the southwestern outer atoll at a length of about 4km.
Photo courtesy of the Taiwanese Coral Reef Society
The density of the crown-of-thorns starfish in the southwestern waters off the atoll has reached 1,232.9 per hectare, far more than the normal density of 15 to 30 per hectare, Cheng said, calling for authorities to control the outbreak immediately.
Also known as “demon starfish,” crown-of-thorns starfish are a coral-reef killer that feed on almost all species of coral and pose the biggest threat to coral reefs, he said, adding that the starfish have a long life expectancy with a high reproduction rate.
As a mature 40cm-long crown-of-thorns starfish could lay 280 million eggs per year, the starfish would consume coral reefs like locusts devastate crops, he said, citing the extensive loss of reefs due to the starfish at Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Cheng, a coral reefs expert who has researched the waters surrounding Taiwan for many years, led a research team to investigate the outbreak along with the National Park Service’s Marine National Park Headquarters from June 9 to 12.
Five divers helped eliminate 1,840 crown-of-thorns starfish, of which 1,237 were killed by injections of vinegar and 603 were removed manually, he said, adding that the restoration of coral reefs in the area would take more than 10 years.
April to September is the ideal time for eliminating the starfish around the Dongsha Atoll, before the northeastern monsoon arrives in October, he said.
The risk of the starfish spreading could decrease as long as their density can be reduced by September, Cheng said.
Meanwhile, the Ocean Affairs Council yesterday said that it would stay in touch with the National Parks Service and supply vinegar doses and divers as needed.
In 2022, authorities worked with Academia Sinica to address a crown-of-thorns starfish outbreak around Itu Aba (Taiping Island, 太平島), which was tackled with vinegar injections and finally controlled more than a year later, the council said.
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