Harvesting coral prohibited in national parks. The CPA calls on operators to respect the law

Kenting and Dongsha Atoll national parks have a rich variety of fish, shellfish and coral and are biodiversity hotspots in the seas around Taiwan. The Council of Agriculture has announced the opening of five sea areas over 7800 square kilometers in area beyond the 12-kilometer limit to fishing boats. Although these areas are not within national park boundaries, taking into account the wholeness of the ocean ecosystem and to avoid fishing boats mistakenly entering national park waters, the Construction & Planning Agency said, apart from collecting of specimens for academic research approved by national park headquarters according to the “Main points for approval of academic specimen collecting by national parks headquarters under the CPA”, according to Article 13 of the National Park Act, “Kenting National Park Plan Conservation, Use and Control Rules” and “Dongsha Atoll National Park Plan Conservation, Use and Control Rules”, the harvesting of fish and coral in the parks is prohibited and called on operators to respect the law.

In the face of sea temperature increase resulting from global warming, coral will inevitably face a struggle for survival and the CPA hopes that the public will help protect Taiwan’s few remaining coral reefs.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：Construction and Planning Agency, Ministry of the Interior