CORAL REEF EXAMINATION ON THE WAY

Local environmental groups will be carrying out an annual examination on the coral reefs in Taiwan at the end of May. Experts say that we currently have a 24 to 40 percent living coral coverage rate, while high-quality coral reef has 50 to 75 percent of its area covered by living coral. Although slightly better than the condition in most of the Pacific region, many are saying that the lack of big fish around the site may act as a warning sign.

The temperature rises slowly this year, prolonging the egg-laying season of coral reefs by another month.

It raises the question whether the marine world is being threatened by the abnormal weather patterns.

A local environmental group has conducted an annual general examination on coral reefs of Taiwan for two years in a row. And now it's inviting more volunteers to join the effort.

A diving coach said that he has observed drastic changes of the ocean environment.

The environmental group found that the coverage rate of coral reefs in Xiao Liukyu was only 10 percent last year, while many coral reefs in the eastern coast were already buried under mud and sand.

By contrast, the living coral reef coverage rate in Taiwan mostly ranges from 25 to 50 percent, slightly better than the Pacific region's average.

However, the number of fish among coral reefs in Taiwan is extremely low, which may be a clear indication of overfishing.

Another threat to the ocean ecology is the development projects on seashores.

For example, a big hotel project in Taitung's Sanshentai.

Therefore, the environmental group has included Jihui of Taitung in its examination this time, hoping to gather more concrete data to convince the authorities of the danger that the new projects are posing to marine life.

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