On December 19, 2006 when the Executive Yuan approved the establishment of Dongsha Atoll National Park it also instructed the Marine National Park Headquarters to assess the suitability of Green Island, the three northern islands and the Pengu Archipelago for designation as national parks. The three northern islands are in the waters off north Taiwan,on the edge of the East China Sea’s southern shelf where the waters of the black current and the East China Sea meet, and are extremely important in terms of the distribution of marine creatures and resource maintenance. The sea area has diverse marine ecological resources and the diverse habits are also the home, egg laying site or nursery of a wide variety living creatures. Designating the three northern islands a national park would affect fishermen’s incomes in the short term but over the long term it would benefit them. In the future, any planning to turn the three islands into a national park will take the interests of fisherman fully into account and consider the interests of all concerned parties. Communication with fishermen will continue so that a balance between the rights of fishermen and conservation can be achieved.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：CPAMI