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.
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
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
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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS