Thermal discharge from the Third Nuclear Power Plant is behind the rapid destruction of Kenting National Park’s coral reef, a marine researcher said, warning that the reef’s disappearance would jeopardize the fishing industry and ecosystem.
Allan Chen (陳昭倫), a research fellow with Academia Sinica’s Research Center for Biodiversity, said the plant has accelerated the deterioration of coral by emitting thermal discharge that has driven seawater temperatures 1.5°C to 2°C higher over the past 26 years.
The number of varieties of coral has fallen from between 20 and 30 that existed 26 years ago to three today, Chen said.
Except for the sandy area off western Taiwan, coral can be found all around the nation and off Penghu, where the water temperature has shot up by 1.09°C in recent years. Coral reefs are considered the most important marine ecosystem for the fishing industry, tourism, culture, medicine and coastline protection, Chen said.
Chen’s research shows that Taiwan’s seawater temperature peaked between the 1970s and the 1980s, in line with global trends. In the last six decades, the average temperature of Taiwan’s seawater has risen 0.79°C, slightly higher than the 0.5°C experienced by other tropical sea regions in the world.
Scientists have warned that if global warming continues at its current pace, the world’s coral reefs will completely disintegrate by the end of the century.
Industrial waste, overfishing, pollution, ocean acidification and typhoons all contribute to the destruction and bleaching of coral reefs, the scientist said.
He said the live coral coverage rate in Kenting now was about 70 percent, roughly the same as in 1986, but that the rate could be a misleading indicator because coverage rate does not mean the live corals are fully functioning.
“It’s like tearing down a multifunctional high-rise building like Taipei 101 and replacing the area with one-story houses. You lose most of the original diversity and functionality,” he said.
In related news, a group of rare soft corals has been discovered off the coast of Rueifang Township (瑞芳), Taipei County.
Wang Min-hsian (王銘祥), who made the discovery, described the area as an underwater “crystal palace,” but he said he feared the coral would be destroyed if plans to build a wharf near the site proceed.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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