Hi everyone! My name is Lisa Zaretskaya. I would like to draw your attention to my report related to the topic of Сoral reefs in Taiwan. Taiwan is an island surrounded by the Pacific ocean. Saving the ocean is an important task for the government of the country, as well as ordinary indifferent people. I would like to tell you about one of the beautiful Islands, which is called Penghu. The South Penghu Marine National Park, designated a protected area in 2014, encompassing 13 cays and islets in southern Penghu. Since 2014, bottom-set gillnetting, which has the potential to indiscriminately destroy marine life over a long period, has been banned inside the national park, but local fishermen are still allowed to use drift nets.

Local politicians take an active role in ocean management to promote tourism and raise public awareness of ocean conservation. A reef rehabilitation event took place at a bay in Magong City on Taiwan’s Penghu main island, every year, as part of a government bid to revitalize the ocean ecosystem. Local politicians implement ecology and environmental protection and raise public awareness of caring for the ocean.

Growing coral is part of the government’s ocean management initiative to realize ocean sustainability. Other measures include improved sewage treatment, removal of fishing nets at sea, fingerling release projects, and fishing equipment control. The reef restoration project, along with the installation of underwater mailboxes, aims to promote tourism while raising public awareness about ocean conservation. Following the partial restriction on fishing in the area, ecotourism activities such as guided snorkeling and scuba diving have provided new sources of income for residents.

Thank you for your attention.