Taiwanese white dolphins might become functionally extinct in the next five years if no effort is made to protect the critically endangered species, an academic said yesterday, calling for the termination of inshore gillnet fishing and illegal trawling.
The dolphins prefer to live around river estuaries and their distribution is highly restricted to shallow coastal waters west of Taiwan, Canadian researcher John Wang (王愈超) said yesterday.
Wang was the first to document the scientific sighting of Taiwanese white dolphins in waters southeast of Taiwan in 2002.
Photo courtesy of environmental groups
The population size was already alarmingly small in 2002, when there were estimated to be no more than 100 dolphins along the western coast of Taiwan, he said.
However, the number has declined to a new low of 45 to 50 this summer, Wang said, adding that it takes Taiwanese white dolphins five years to produce a calf if it survives.
The species has been listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List as “critically endangered” and is declining at a rate of 3 percent to 4 percent per year, he said.
That means the death rate is higher than the birthrate and the extinction vortex is imminent, Wang said.
Taiwanese white dolphins are susceptible to noise and chemical pollution in the air and water, so coastal development projects, such as the construction of wind turbine plants or liquefied natural gas receiving terminals, are threats, and reduce the dolphins’ food and habitat, he said.
Developers are building offshore wind turbines, given the government’s green energy policies, but they are also competing with the dolphins for shallow water sites, where development costs are lower, Wang said.
The port expansion project at Taichung Harbor — waters that 90 percent of dolphins pass through — could also undermine their habitat, with construction noises and increased vessel traffic forcing them to take detours and venture into potentially dangerous waters, he said.
Coastal development projects, such as the port expansion, are also killing the food of Taiwanese white dolphins, including the catfish, Wang added.
Gillnets used in coastal fisheries, as well as illegal inshore trawling, are also a major threat, as they could trap, injure or kill dolphins, he said, adding that the threat could be removed immediately by changing net fisheries’ practices.
Asked when Taiwanese white dolphins are projected to become extinct, Wang said that researchers are not sure about the exact timing, as the species’ reproductive biology remained to be fully explored.
Given that Taiwanese white dolphins can live for a long time, the species might lose the ability to reproduce while they are still alive and become functionally extinct, he said.
“I would say [their extinction] cannot be recovered in the next five years if no moves are taken to address problems like gillnets and environmental pollutions in Taiwan,” Wang said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
‘LIKE-MINDED PARTNER’: Tako van Popta said it would be inappropriate to delay signing the deal with Taiwan because of China, adding he would promote the issue Canadian senators have stressed Taiwan’s importance for international trade and expressed enthusiasm for ensuring the Taiwan-Canada trade cooperation framework agreement is implemented this year. Representative to Canada Harry Tseng (曾厚仁) in an interview with the Central News Agency (CNA) said he was increasingly uneasy about Ottawa’s delays in signing the agreement, especially as Ottawa has warmed toward Beijing. There are “no negotiations left. Not only [is it] initialed, we have three versions of the text ready: English, French and Mandarin,” Tseng said. “That tells you how close we are to the final signature.” Tseng said that he hoped Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
RSS