Coral reefs around Liuqiu Island off southwest Taiwan are in the worst condition among all reefs around the country, according to the findings of an 12-year study of the reefs released by the Taiwan Environmental Information Association (TEIA) on Tuesday.
The report, which summarized research conducted by the TEIA between 2009-2020, found that live coral cover, an efficient indicator of coral reef health, averaged only 10-20 percent around Liuqiu Island, the lowest in Taiwan.
Reefs around Liuqiu Island, along with those around Green Island and Kenting in the south, suffered severe bleaching around 2020 due to global warming and the low incidence of typhoons in the country, the TEIA said in a press conference ahead of World Oceans Day on Wednesday.
While coral reefs in most areas have shown signs of slight recovery, those around Liuqiu Island remain in very bad condition, said Allen Chen (???), an Academia Sinica researcher.
The health of coral reefs around Liuqiu Island has been declining over the past 20-30 years, due to over-fishing, recreational disturbances, and pollution from nearby Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County, Chen said.
From an academic point of view, damage to the coral reefs around the Liuqiu Island has passed the tipping point, which makes natural recovery very unlikely, he said.
“It’s like a golf ball that has fallen into a hole — it can’t get back to the surface on its own,” he said, adding that it may require government intervention including travel and pollution controls, as well as conservation measures to reverse the trend.
Other coral reefs under considerable threat are those along the north and northeast coasts, where live coral cover is around 20-30 percent, and in the east, where it is 30-40 percent, the report said.
Human activities that resulted in over-development and eutrophication were all to blame for the worsening health of the coral reefs in those areas, according to the report.
TEIA secretary-general Chen Jui-pin (???) urged the government to introduce a marine conservation act to implement concrete measures to protect the ocean.
By 2030, Chen said, Taiwan should conserve 30 percent of its coastal and marine areas, as well as enact stricter laws to regulate coastal development and marine waste disposal.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel