Marine Conservation Is The Key of Sustainable Fishery

The Penghu County Council held a seminar about South Penghu Marine National Park on November 20th, 2019. Commissioner of Marine National Park Headquarters Shao-Liang Hsu joined the discussion about shellfish catching and management, longline fishing studies. Currently, there is no limitation towards seasonal migratory fishery. Resources are limited for harvesting shellfishes. Therefore, the needs of local residents will be prioritized.

Localized Marine Conservation: Caring Villagers’ livelihoods and legal fishery activities

South Penghu Marine National Park was established on June 8th, 2014. Staffs have been implementing various conservation measures. With the support of residents and fishermen, the fishery resources have been improved significantly. The investigation indicates that the biodiversity of the coral ecology is positive. Since other water areas in Penghu have already surpassed fishing pressure, South Penghu’s coral environment becomes an inportant conservation.

Located in remote areas, locals in South Penghu Four Islands are relatively weak in social economies. In order to balance local villagers’ living, the headquarters opened limited amount of shellfish catching. However, due to limited resources, fishery for non-locals is not allowed. The policy is to protect resources and local residents. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures to limit competition. Otherwise, the result of full harvesting might deplete the coastal shellfishes, which fails the goal of sustainable fishery.