Coast guard takes action to protect local sea turtles
KEEPING WATERS SAFE: Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration called on people not to throw trash into the sea, as those pose dangers to marine animals
By Chen Yen-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Coast guard personnel conducted an enforcement action and rescue operation to protect sea turtles on a beach on Siaoliouciou (小琉球) and in the seas off Pingtung County, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said last week.
The CGA said its Patrol Area Office 7 on Monday last week received a report that a foreign national was touching a sea turtle near the Beauty Cave (美人洞).
The beaches of Siaoliouciou Island are breeding grounds for close to 200 sea turtles, and disturbing them is an offense under the Wild Life Conservation Act (野生動物保育法), it said, adding that it carries a sentence of up to one year in prison and a fine between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000.
A sea turtle swims in waters around Siaoliouciou, within the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area, in an undated photograph.
Photo courtesy of the Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration
A patrol dispatched to the area shortly before 6pm found a woman from Germany and her companion, who were drinking beer, the agency said.
The woman apologized profusely and said she was unaware that touching the turtles was a crime, it said.
The person who reported the woman had taken pictures of her touching the animals, which was forwarded to CGA personnel, it said, adding that the case has been transferred to the Penghu District Prosecutors’ Office.
Coast Guard Administration (CGA) personnel release a sea turtle on Tuesday last week after rescuing it from a fishing net off the coast of Pingtung County.
Photo courtesy of the CGA
The Council of Ocean Affairs, the Tourism Administration and the Pingtung County Government have worked for years on a public education campaign telling visitors not to harass the turtles, the CGA said.
The number of people touching turtles had been very low until this year, when incidents rose again, it said.
People who see others bothering turtles should call 118 to summon the coast guard, it added.
Separately, the CGA Maritime Parol Directorate General on Tuesday last week freed a small green sea turtle entangled in a fishing net 0.3 nautical miles off Pingtung’s Singhai Fishing Harbor (興海漁港), the CGA said.
Patrol boat PP-10052 of Flotilla 14 found the tangled young sea turtle during a routine patrol and immediately freed it from the net, it said.
Personnel aboard the boat checked the turtle for injuries and found none, and released the animal back into the sea, it said.
Debris at sea, including discarded fishing nets, vessel propellers and trash, poses a significant danger to marine life, as sea animals could be trapped in flotsam or become sick after eating undigestible materials, the CGA said.
The CGA called on the public to protect the environment by not dumping waste into the sea.
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