Dissections of turtles found stranded ashore showed that more than half had consumed plastic and other waste produced by humans, while most were found on the coasts of southern and eastern Taiwan, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said in a report on Friday.
Established in April last year as part of the Ocean Affairs Council, the OCA in April released the first of its quarterly reports on strandings of cetaceans and sea turtles.
Mass strandings of cetaceans have been reported around the globe this year, the agency said, citing reports that more than 260 dolphins have beached along the northern Gulf of Mexico since February.
Photo copied by Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
In the second quarter, the agency received reports of 71 stranded turtles — 24 more than the average reported in the same period for the previous three years, the report showed.
Green sea turtles remain the primary species found, with 65 rescued from April to June, it said.
The turtles were rescued mainly on beaches in Taitung County, Pingtung County, New Taipei City and outlying Penghu County, it said.
Veterinarians have performed autopsies on 48 turtles, among which 26 were found to have consumed plastic debris, polystyrene foam or metal, the OCA said.
It called on people to reduce use of disposable plastic products to prevent more marine animals from consuming them.
In the second quarter, the OCA received reports of 50 stranded whales and dolphins, 40 of which were found dead, it said.
The beached animals included 13 pygmy killer whales — some of which were stranded in a group on the coast in Kaohsiung in April — 10 finless porpoises, seven bottlenose dolphins and five Fraser’s dolphins, it said.
The stranded cetaceans were found mainly on beaches in Kaohsiung, Taitung County and outlying Lienchiang County, the OCA said.
A pilot whale found in Kaohsiung in April was deaf — which is more than likely why it became stranded — and despite 31 days of treatment, it died, possibly because its internal organs were inflamed, it said.
The rising number of stranded animals might be because of increased attention on marine conservation, so there needs to be long-term observations to determine whether there is an upward trend, the agency said.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS