Fri, Oct 03, 2025 page2

• Greenpeace urges stricter fishing activity regulation

  RESTORATION: The group called for listing Siaoliouciou Island, South Penghu Marine National Park and Sansiantai as marine sanctuaries to revive endangered coral reefs

  • By Huang Yi-ching and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Greenpeace yesterday urged the government to incorporate stricter regulation of fishery activities into marine protected area planning to help revive endangered coral reefs around Taiwan.

  The nonprofit environmental group also called for listing Pingtung County’s Siaoliouciou Island (小琉球), South Penghu Marine National Park and Taitung County’s Sansiantai (三仙台) as marine sanctuaries based on the Marine Conservation Act (海洋保育法).

  Efforts by the Fisheries Agency, the Tourism Administration and the Ocean Conservation Administration should be integrated in cooperation with local authorities to minimize disruptive activities for marine conservation, it said.

  

  A diver holds a coral reef entangled by discarded fishing gear in waters off Siaoliouciou Island in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of Greenpeace via CNA

  Greenpeace East Asia Ocean Campaign spokesman Yves Chiu (邱聰榮) said the UN High Seas Treaty is to come into force after it was ratified by 60 countries last month.

  That means the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the ocean globally by 2030 has become imperative, he said.

  Greenpeace conducted underwater investigations and monitoring across 20 dive sites within the marine national park, Liouciou Aquatic Propagation and Conservation Zone, and Sansiantai Recreation Area (三仙台風景特定區) from July to August, Chiu said.

  

  A moray eel is entangled in a fish net in waters off Touwu Island — a complete no-fishing zone — in Penghu County in an undated photograph.

  Photo courtesy of Greenpeace via CNA

  The monitoring footage showed many coral reefs around Siaoliouciou Island and the marine national park covered with algae, resulting in coral bleaching, he said.

  The investigations also found that coral reefs entangled with waste fishing gear were common in the three marine areas, Chiu said.

  Greenpeace cross-analyzed data from automatic identification systems and data from underwater monitoring of coral reefs collected at the three areas to explore the link between fishery activities and coral reef ecosystems, he said.

  The results showed that coral decline was correlated with fishery activities and exacerbated by increased fishing vessel traffic, Chiu said.

  Siaoliouciou Island and the marine national park have been listed as marine protected areas, but they have much heavier fishing vessel traffic and more severe coral decline than Sansiantai, which has yet to be listed as a marine protected area, he said.

  An understaffed patrol force also raised concern over insufficient enforcement, he added.

  National Taitung University life science assistant professor Twan Wen-hung (段文宏), who is also managing supervisor at the Taiwan Coral Reef Society, said that overfishing is one of the most pervasive threats to coral reefs around the world.

  For example, herbivorous fish, such as parrotfish, can help boost coral growth and recovery by inhibiting algae proliferation, he said, adding that overfishing would reduce the overall resilience of coral reef ecosystems.

  Such fishing has therefore been banned in Hawaii and follow-up research showed that the conduct did help revive corals, he added.

  To prevent established marine protected areas from degenerating into empty shells, the government should incorporate fishery management and education — including protective measures and fishing bans or restrictions for herbivorous fish — and engage in long-term monitoring and cooperation with local communities, Twan said.

  Ocean Citizens Foundation executive director Wang Shiau-chan (王曉嬋) said the four islands situated in southern Penghu have been designated as a marine national park, which means the place should serve as a genetic reservoir and be held to the highest conservation standards, she said.

  Stricter fishery control should be introduced to ensure surveillance and law enforcement, she said.
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