About half of the nation’s marine protected areas are completely or highly protected, the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) said on Friday, as it aims to meet international conservation goals.
The findings were from a comprehensive survey last year of all 45 protected marine zones around the nation, conducted for the first time in the agency’s history, it said in a statement.
Among them, seven were considered “completely protected,” while 18 were “highly protected,” it said.
Photo courtesy of the Ocean Conservation Administration
Nine were “moderately protected” and 11 had a low level of protection, it added.
The seven completely protected areas were Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin habitats along the west coast, Kenting National Park, Dongsha Atoll National Park, South Penghu Marine National Park, Wanghaixiang Chaojing Bay, the Fushan Aquatic Organisms Propagation and Conservation Zone, and the Penghu South Sea Columnar Basalt Nature Reserve.
These reserves have comprehensive management plans, regular ecological surveys and complete fishing bans, the OCA said.
The poorly preserved areas have labor shortages and lack resources to assist with conservation, it said.
The OCA in 2021 surveyed 22 zones after establishing a set of evaluation criteria, it said, adding that last year was the first time it evaluated all 45 areas.
The point of the survey was not to give points to each area, but to better understand the state of management in the nation’s marine protection areas to serve as a basis for improvement, it said.
For example, after the Shitiping Aquatic Organisms Propagation and Conservation Zone off Hualien County received a poor rating in 2021, the OCA and local communities worked together to draft a plan, and to conduct a survey and patrols for giant clam populations, it said.
The Keelung City Government cooperated with the OCA to conduct patrols in the Keelung City Aquatic Plants and Animals Conservation Area, significantly improving oversight, it added.
The UN Convention on Biological Diversity last year adopted a goal to protect 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, which Taiwan is striving to achieve, OCA Director-General Huang Hsiang-wen (黃向文) said.
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