The removal of a check dam from the Shei-pa National Park in 2011 has led to a dramatic increase in the population of the critically endangered Formosan landlocked salmon, a professor said yesterday.
The number of salmon has grown from fewer than 500 in 2001 to 5,400 this year, said National Chung Hsing University professor Lin Hsing-juh (林幸助), who started a 10-year project in 2004 with 20 other academics to monitor and research the fish.
The 15m by 3m Check Dam No. 1 of the Chichiawan Creek, one of 10 built on the river to reduce channel erosion and prevent sediment from filling a downstream reservoir, was torn down in May 2011.
The research team found that the dam left the fish vulnerable to big storms. When the creek was hit by a typhoon or flooding, the salmon would be flushed from their natural habitat in the creek’s upper reaches to points downstream, Lin said.
The cold-water fish would try to migrate upstream, but were prevented by the dam, leaving them to die in the warmer water of the creek’s lower reaches, Lin said.
During each major storm, one-third of the Formosan landlocked salmon in the region perished, he said.
The current salmon population has nearly reached the creek’s maximum capacity of 5,800 salmon, Lin said, but he added that the species is threatened by pollution caused by the production of high-mountain vegetables, fruit and tea grown nearby on Wuling Farm (武陵農場).
Nitrates in the fertilizers found in washed off soil pollute the creek and prevent the salmon from breathing, he said.
The species, a holdover from the last Ice Age, needs unpolluted waters to survive and is now found only in the country’s Cijiawan Creek (七家灣溪) and Gaoshan Creek (高山溪) in the upper reaches of the Dajia River (大甲溪).
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS