A Chinese fishing boat has been caught illegally harvesting coral and endangered turtles in waters near the Taiwan-controlled Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the disputed South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration said yesterday.
Acting on a tip-off earlier this week that a Chinese fishing boat was detected operating in the islands’ waters, the coast guard deployed the 3,000-tonne Kaohsiung patrol ship and three 100-tonne patrol boats to the area, the coast guard’s Maritime Patrol Directorate-General said.
The patrol boats spotted a Chinese fishing boat in waters 7.5 nautical miles (13.89km) south of Pratas Island, the directorate-general said.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
After taking control of the ship, they found 15,000kg of 21 species of coral, 400kg of shellfish and three endangered green sea turtles on board, as well as 40kg of toxic chemicals used to kill fish, the directorate-general said.
The discovery led coast guard officials to detain the fishing boat and its 41 crew members and transport them to Kaohsiung for questioning, the directorate-general said, adding that they could face punishment in Taiwan.
The harvesting of coral by Chinese fishing boats — which target specific species and colors — is a serious threat to the area’s coral reef ecosystem, the directorate-general said, citing Chen Chao-lun (陳昭倫), director of the Penghu Symbiotic Algae Association and a research fellow with Academia Sinica’s biodiversity research center.
The directorate-general also dispersed 11 Chinese fishing boats and seized two small Chinese-registered boats for investigation during its patrols near the Pratas Island, the agency said, adding that it would continue to crack down on Chinese fishing boats trespassing in the area.
The Pratas Islands, comprising the main Pratas Island and two coral reefs submerged at high tide, are about 400km southwest of Taiwan’s southern tip in the northern part of the South China Sea.
Controlled by Taiwan, which has designated them a national park, the islands straddle a strategically important sea route linking the Pacific and Indian oceans.
The main island is a coral atoll with a land area of 2.4km2. It measures 0.9km from east to west and 2.8km from north to south.
China also claims the Pratas Islands.
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