Measures to secure Siaoliouciou Island’s (小琉球) status as a tourist hotspot for the sea turtles that frequent the island are being planned, the Ocean Affairs Council said.
The agency’s Ocean Conservation Administration said that an average of 637 sea turtles were recorded per month last year on the island off Pingtung County, with November the top month with 981 photographed in one session.
The Ocean Conservation Administration said it conducts an aerial photography assessment that lasts 90 minutes each month using an uncrewed arrival vehicle.
Photo: Taipei Times
Agency staff manually count the turtles that the drone photographs, it said.
The agency this year placed its first satellite tracker on a celonia mydas, commonly known as green sea turtles, shortly after the animal hatched, it said.
The tracking program, conducted in tandem with the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium, and the Taiwan Loo-Koo Yu Association, would help groups study the turtles, including their egg-laying schedule, migratory routes, habitats and feeding grounds, the Ocean Conservation Administration said.
Taiwan Loo-Koo Yu Association president Chang Hsin-yi (張欣怡) said that the group is dedicated to removing trash on beaches so that green sea turtles can lay eggs at their customary time from May to October.
However, summer brings a lot of visitors to the island, so the association has promoted rules such as restrictions on white-light sources, camping and fireworks to minimize impacts on green sea turtles that are about to lay eggs, Chang said.
The Pingtung County Government has listed five intertidal zones as Natural and Cultural Ecology Scenic Areas, including the Shanfu (杉福), Yuchengwei (漁埕尾) and Duzaiping (肚仔坪) sites, which have been designated conservation pilot zones.
The three pilot zones have limits on the number of people allowed in at a time, and since July 1 have charged a NT$60 conservation fee per person, it said.
The fees go into a special account to fund efforts to conserve and restore ecological resources, with the goal to allow tourism while maintaining sustainable development, it said.
Siaoliouciou Natural and Cultural Ecology Tourism Association director-general Chen Wen-yu (陳文玉) said that his association has been in the conservation movement for more than a decade and has seen the local extinction of species due to overcrowding.
However, crowd-control policies have resulted in some species, such as the cushion starfish and the blue sea star, making a return, Chen said.
An ecotour guide surnamed Hung (洪) said that green sea turtles sightings have increased over the past eight years, adding that they have also seen hatchings.
The local flora and fauna are invaluable resources, and residents and visitors must safeguard and conserve them, Hung said.
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