In Shilang Reserve, a diving resort in Taitung Green Island, the anchor chains of engineering ships were directly pressed on the coral reefs, causing many coral reefs to break. The residents complained to the Engineering Society and the Taitung County Government. The East County Government said it had imposed fines on the construction industry and demanded improvements. Shilang Reserve is known as a diving destination and is also a golden rooster for sightseeing on Green Island. In June, the coral reef of the “Moai Stone Statue”, a star attraction under the sea, was severed, leaving drag marks on the ground.
At 4 o’clock yesterday afternoon, diving instructor Liu Changxiao took the students to the Shilang diving area and saw the anchor chain of the construction ship pressing on the coral reef.
Some people reported to the Public Works Committee of the Executive Yuan that the wave-dissipating blocks at the Green Island Wharf Port have repeatedly damaged the seabed corals in the Shilang Reserve, and the surrounding environment has not been properly protected. The county government came forward to explain.
In an interview with reporters today, the coach surnamed Liu said that at 4 p.m. yesterday, he took the students to dive, from the caisson to the cross and back to the postbox. Along the way, there were many new rubble like the “Moai Stone Statue”, and he also found that the huge anchor chain directly pressed On the coral, after a few minutes, a large construction vessel came over and pulled up the anchor violently, and the coral also broke.
He said that it is understandable that both the construction and restoration of the nearby fishing port and the erection of wave-absorbing blocks are all for the convenience and safety of everyone; however, do you hope that the relevant units can plan more properly during construction and not be so rude to Taiwan’s rare world level dive site.
He said that stony corals can only grow 1 to 10 centimeters per year depending on the species. It is not worth it to destroy so many corals in one construction. The coral reef ecology is like a submarine tropical rainforest, providing a rich variety of biological species. 1/4 of marine organisms live in coral reefs. It can be said that it is very difficult to survive without coral reef fish.
Liu Changxiao said that this is not a single incident. Last month’s dive site, a coral reef shaped like a Moai statue on Easter Island had been knocked down by an anchor. The restoration of Nanliao Fishing Port in the previous two years also covered the seabed with ash and was mutilated. There are already countless corals. I hope everyone can pay attention not to put the cart before the horse and destroy the originally attractive marine world in order to accommodate more tourists.
Xie Xianyu, the mayor of Green Island, said in an interview with reporters that the seabed is the most important selling point for the development of tourism in Green Island. The port project is huge. The township office and the county government have been asking the construction company not to damage the seabed ecology. The township government office will invite divers to investigate the damage, and ask the manufacturer and the county government to discuss how to avoid the damage of the project.
Xu Jiahao, Director of Agriculture of Taitung County Government, said that the construction company of the wharf at Nanliao Fishing Port must use a platform boat to haul the wave damping block. At the end of June this year, the coral reef of the “Moai Statue” was destroyed in this way. Because in the Shilang Reserve, the Taitung County Government imposed a fine of NT$30,000 in accordance with the Fisheries Law, and required manufacturers to communicate with local diving operators to understand the underwater Condition, “those blocks can be used and those that can’t be used” cannot destroy coral reef behavior.
Xu Jiahao said that the construction progress must still have wave-absorbing blocks, and how to achieve the final balance between the construction progress and ecological conservation can be accepted by everyone, and the county government will come to ask the manufacturers to do it.
Responsible editor: Yu Weining