海洋教育營 操舟學自救

海洋教育營 操舟學自救

【聯合報╱記者阮南輝／基隆報導】 2007.08.13 02:22 am



基隆巴蜀文教基金會承辦的海洋教育研習營，昨天安排學員到懷舊碼頭划獨木舟。
記者阮南輝／攝影
基隆市巴蜀文教基金會承辦的海洋教育研習營，40名學員昨天到懷舊碼頭划獨木舟，還練習落水自救技巧，第1次划船的大學生黃章維、溫奕琳說「很刺激，真好玩」。

巴蜀文教基金會執行長賈裕祖表示，台灣是海洋國家，從事海上活動的人也越來越多，教育部、基隆市政府合辦海洋教育─獨木舟免費訓練，利用周六、周日上課，前3次的學科課程包括如何計算潮汐、看雲測風及觀測海象，可以在出海划獨木舟時，隨時知道氣象變化。

6周課程的3次學科已上完，第1次的術科課程昨天傍晚在基隆懷舊碼頭操舟，在專業教練指導下，學員練習操舟，也練習落水時如何爬回獨木舟等自救技巧。

賈裕祖說，還有2次的操舟課程，將分別練習划到八尺門及正濱漁港的開放水域。

【2007/08/13 聯合報】@ http://udn.com/

政院搶救海岸 未來嚴審新案 不再建海岸公路、漁港

中國時報 2007.08.12　
政院搶救海岸 未來嚴審新案 不再建海岸公路、漁港
顏瓊玉/台北報導、黃如萍/台北報導

自然海岸線上的重大開發案即日起止步。行政院日前核定「永續海岸整體發展方案」，為達到自然海岸「零損失」，明定行政部門提出開發案前須嚴格審議，此外，中央也不得補助地方建設海岸公路。

在海岸管理的基本法《海岸法》制定以前，該方案是政府各部門研訂及審議海岸地區各項實質利用計畫的最高指導原則。

台塑煉鋼廠等已核准 可續建

相關官員表示，該方案和法律一樣不溯及既往，已核准的開發案將不受規範。因此，引起環保人士反彈的台塑大煉鋼廠、國光石化、彰工火力發電廠、嘉義布袋商港、東港大鵬灣ＢＯＴ案等，雖都屬海岸地區建設，但某種程度已獲經建部門認同，恐不適用該方案。

至於爭議性更大的蘇花高速公路是否適用該方案，官員表示，蘇花高主要路線都在山脈上，特色是隧道數量多，不屬於海岸線上的開發案。

行政院國家永續發展委員會執行長、研考會主委施能傑表示，永續會上月開會時將該方案列入報告事項，與會專家學者非常關心自然海岸現流失情形。如今方案既已制定，政府當然必須遵守，政府開發行為要節制，各部會對其業務與預算執行要做細部規畫。

蘇花高路線在山脈 不受規範

「永續海岸整體發展方案」將漁港、海岸公路、海堤、觀光遊憩、海埔地，以及海岸規畫等六大重點列為優先實施項目，民國九十六年起至一百年分五年編列預算共三億二○一○萬元。

相關官員表示，海岸線上的重大開發案多數是政府工程，因此，方案明定海岸重大工程須嚴格審議，開發單位（公部門）提出計畫申請核定時，要同時檢具開發基地數值資料，以供海岸監測。

除了重大開發案，海岸公路也是自然海岸線的殺手之一，因此明定，最接近海岸第一條公路向海延伸的陸地不能再建設國道及省道，且中央不補助經費建設縣道、鄉道等地方道路。不過，如因政策需要，經協調相關主管機關並報行政院核定，可「有條件許可」興建公路。

漁港方面，台灣本島共計一百三十九處，離島九十一處，包括澎湖六十七處、琉球鄉九處、台東縣綠島鄉四處、蘭嶼鄉三處、福建省連江縣五處。因部分漁港閒置，未來將不再新建或擴建漁港，今年底還要公告廢止七處無漁船設籍的漁港；功能不彰的漁港將由主管機關協助轉型。

功能不彰漁港 政府輔導轉型

另，一般海堤原則上也不再新建，而申請海埔地開發，應以「行政院專案核准之重大計畫」為限。

相關官員指出，該方案實施後預期效益，希望維持自然海岸線比例不再低於九十五年百分之四十四點七的基準，並在有效復育之下能逐年提高。

交通部昨日指出，國內高快速路網已經形成，重大公路建設僅剩下西濱快速道路及蘇花高速公路，前者環評已經過關，後者評估後也確定不牴觸「永續海岸發展計畫」的規範。所以，沒有重大交通建設可能受到海岸地區重新定義的影響。

交通部主任秘書張邱春表示，鄰近海岸線的公路建設，包括台九線花蓮台東段拓寬、台廿六線的擴建及西濱快速路，這三條公路正在執行中，不受新規範的影響。

http://news.chinatimes.com/2007Cti/2007Cti-News/2007Cti-News-Content/0,4521,110501+112007081200014,00.html

官員之子勾結菲國海軍 扣船勒贖

聯合報╱記者廖炳棋、王聖藜／台北報導】 2007.07.28 03:44 am

我國鮪魚船近幾年來屢遭菲律賓海軍查扣，導致家屬必須籌錢贖人，至今已有廿多艘漁船受害。相關單位調查後，發現台灣的許姓夫婦涉嫌與菲國海軍勾結，提供船隻資料供菲方抓人，再將家屬贖款與菲方人員瓜分；檢警前天在機場逮捕許，檢方聲押許姓夫婦。

警方指出，父親曾是漁業署官員的許志宜（四十一歲），和妻子初炳桂（四十一歲）在菲國開設漁業公司，許見黑鮪魚價格攀升，即利用漁民急於捕獲黑鮪魚，並趁我國尚未與菲國簽訂漁業合作協定詐騙漁民。許誆稱，只要繳納六十萬元到八十萬元的合約金，就能成為菲國的技術外勞，在菲國漁場捕魚，不用擔心遭菲國海軍逮捕。

不少漁民信以為真而與許志宜簽約，不料在菲國海域捕魚仍遭菲國海軍逮捕；漁民拿出和許簽訂的合約「保身」，才知道合約是假的。

漁民被擄消息傳回國內，許志宜再以中間人身分向家屬遊說，表示拿贖金就可救人；家屬只好籌贖金二至三百萬元不等，匯入許妻初炳桂帳戶。

由於許志宜掌握漁船資料，清楚各艘漁船當季的捕獲量，如果被查扣的漁船當季豐收，許還會提高贖金，吃定家屬。其中一位漁民家屬就曾拿近三百萬元贖金匯入初炳桂帳戶，許又推說不夠，提高到七百萬元，家屬無奈，只能再匯錢贖人。

去年四月，「新聯隆」、「新明財」兩艘漁船遭此手法被擄，船長回國後向當地漁會反映，並報請檢警偵辦。檢警發現內情不單純，成立「飛魚專案」，協調刑事警察局、漁業署等單位調查，發現許志宜涉嫌勾結菲國海軍，詐欺我國漁民。

刑事局查出許志宜在前天回國，立刻派員在機場埋伏逮捕，再到台北市許的住處逮捕初炳桂。許應訊時否認不法；許妻初炳桂則辯稱，菲國華僑在扣船過程中擔任接應角色，贖款也是華僑用來賂賄菲國官員，她與丈夫是在幫助被擄漁民。

刑事警察局偵訊後，昨天將許志宜、初炳桂夫婦依詐欺、擄人勒贖罪嫌移送台北地檢署偵辦，昨天晚上檢方聲請這對夫婦羈押禁見。

海底看仔細 軍艦礁旁魚群少

http://tw.news.yahoo.com/article/url/d/a/070807/11/ic6k.html

到底軍艦礁在海底，造成什麼樣的生態破壞，專家說，已經成了支離破碎的軍艦，不但會造成海底的水質污染，最嚴重的就是，抑制珊瑚的生長，到底情況有多嚴重，帶您一起到海底，一探究竟。軍艦礁靜靜的橫躺在海底深處，不過仔細一看，船身已經斷裂，支離破碎的生鏽鐵片，早已將原本清澈的海水給渾濁，偶爾幾條魚游過來，但停留的時間卻都不長。

當初想要發揮聚魚功能，吸引魚群，打造海底新景點的功能，完全看不到，看看原本的珊瑚，應該是這麼的漂亮、這麼的吸引人，可是現在卻因為船艦礁的關係，出現白化現象，甚至還有黑帶病的情形。

專家說，全球暖化，水溫上升，已經危害的珊瑚生長，船艦礁更讓珊瑚直接面臨死亡，海底生態遭破壞，相關單位真的要好好思考解決方式，否則不但魚沒了，就連珊瑚可能也會看不到。

餵荷爾蒙 珊瑚卵長得快

海洋大學水產生物科技頂尖研究中心發現，珊瑚產卵時在水中加入特定的荷爾蒙成分，兩星期內可以讓珊瑚卵細胞的成長速度增加百分之廿到廿五，有如珊瑚的「威而鋼」，對珊瑚保育有很大幫助。

今天起將到國科會任職的海大生科中心主任張清風表示，珊瑚礁若長得好，可以提供海洋生物良好的棲息空間，當地水域的海洋生物更為多樣化。

張清風表示，珊瑚成長速度緩慢，每年大約成長一公分，而且對海水的變化非常敏感，近年來受到人為破壞、環境汙染等影響，珊瑚生態受到嚴重破壞。

去年底他的研究團體開始研究如何加速珊瑚卵細胞成長，今年三、四月間珊瑚產卵季節，他們發現在水中加入特定的荷爾蒙、控制水溫，在兩星期內把珊瑚卵細胞的成長速度增加百分之廿到廿五。

張清風說，未來如果可以促使珊瑚一年四季都能產卵的話，對珊瑚復育有很大幫助。張清風團隊將在國際期刊發表這項研究成果。

張清風帶領的團隊，研究珊瑚產卵、成長技術獨步全球，二○○三年他的博士班學生段文宏，發現珊瑚體內「雌性荷爾蒙」、「醣基化雌性荷爾蒙」會造成珊瑚集體產卵。這篇研究報告也上了美國知名科學雜誌「生殖生物」期刊，也是國際上首篇找出珊瑚集體產卵秘密的論文。團隊另在去年於「內分泌」期刊發表珊瑚體內具有類似脊椎動物的「芳香化酵素」、「促性腺生成激素釋放素」等物質，這也是領先國際的成果。

環評換血 停擺交通工程有望復活

中國時報 2007.07.27　
環評換血 停擺交通工程有望復活
黃如萍/台北報導

環保署環評委員已更換，根據交通部統計，先前卡在環評而停擺的交通建設有十四項、總工程規模約四○五○億元。交通部決定陸續提出蘇花高等交通建設計畫環評審議或差異分析報告，希望「大復活」。

目前因環評審議未過而受阻的交通建設案件數，創歷年之最，擔心再度碰壁，今年初起，交通部特別將預定送審的環評或環差資料刻意延後，待新環評委員選出後再說。

根據交通部統計，十四項卡在環評而停擺的交通建設中，公路八項，分別是國道四號豐原大坑段及台中生活圈二號、四號道路，蘇花高、中山高五股楊梅段拓寬等，建設經費二五○○多億元。

軌道部分五項，分別是台鐵花東鐵路電氣化等，工程總規模約一四三○億；另有大鵬灣開發計畫約一○三億。

交通部建設計畫屢遭環評退件，交通部長蔡堆也不爽。去年十月，行政院環保署二度退回台六十一線西濱快速公路員林大排段計畫的環評差異分析時，蔡堆當時直指環評專案會議審查不周全，導致西濱快速道路中部路段中斷。交通部公路總局局長陳晉源表示，西濱快鹿港大城段環差補充資料，預定今年八月再送審。

中山高五股楊梅段拓寬工程計畫更是交通部的痛！環評兩度退回，使塞車情形無法緩解，交通部高速公路局更改路線後，仍無法通過環評，只好「期待」這一屆環評委員。

高度爭議的蘇花高興建計畫則攸關國工局存廢；如果蘇花高確定不建，國工局興建國道的組織任務將在民國九十七年底國道六號完工後終止，國工局面臨裁撤。為此，國工局花大錢製作蘇花高興建說帖，以影片、動畫、文字等各種方式，奮力圖存。

Are whale sharks the new panda?

Are whale sharks the new panda?

The deaths of Norton and Ralph, two whale sharks donated by Taiwan to the Georgia Aquarium, has raised awkward questions
by Ron Brownlow
STAFF REPORTER
Sunday, Jul 15, 2007, Page 17


One of two new whale sharks is lowered into the Ocean Voyager exhibit at the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, June 1, 2007
PHOTOS: AP AND AFP

No visit to the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta is complete without a stroll through its most impressive feature, a transparent tunnel that transverses the world's largest fish tank. When viewed from inside, the 24-million-liter Ocean Voyager Exhibit teems with schools of predatory ronin, fleets of stingrays, goliath groupers and hammerhead sharks. The fanciful vista reveals many wonders, but none so magnificent as its four Taiwanese whale sharks, bus-sized fish on display for the first time anywhere outside Asia.

These gentle leviathans, named Alice and Trixie, Yushan and Taroko, are the Georgia Aquarium's star attractions. In its displays, press releases, Web site and talking points, the Georgia Aquarium - which has been visited by more than 5 million people and viewed in the media by millions more since it opened nearly two years ago - describes Taiwan as a beautiful country that cares for the environment. For a diplomatically isolated nation like Taiwan, publicity can't get much better than this.


One of two whale sharks destined for the Georgia Aquarium in downtown Atlanta swims in a sea pen off the coast of Taiwan


But many within the conservation community, both in Taiwan and abroad, have argued against sending the whale sharks to Georgia. Pointing to statistics that show a steady decline in both the size and number of whale sharks observed in Taiwanese waters, they say the removal of even a few individuals could disrupt migration patterns and speed population decline. Paying for whale sharks, they say, encourages fishermen to capture more in the hopes of selling them to other aquariums and marine parks. And they note aquariums in Taiwan and Japan experienced problems keeping these delicate creatures healthy.


Whale sharks swim at the Georgia Aquarium, June 13, 2007, in Atlanta


"Catching whale sharks and sending them overseas is the wrong way to protect this threatened species," says Allen Chen (陳昭倫), a marine biologist at Academia Sinica. "This is the world's biggest fish. It's hard for them to survive in the ocean, much less an aquarium, no matter how big or technologically advanced it is. If they run into a fisherman's net, tag them and let them go, don't fly them 16,000km to Georgia, where their final destination is death. I don't think Georgia will ship them back to Hualien like Free Willy."


one of the original whale sharks on exhibit at the aquarium, died June 13, 2007, and is the second whale shark to die at the facility in five months.


"The Georgia Aquarium is portraying itself as the rescuer of these whale sharks. We, the nice imperialist Americans, went in there and saved the whale sharks," said Naomi Rose, a marine mammal specialist at the Humane Society of the United States. "But when you pay fishermen big money for live animals, that creates an incentive for fisherman to go out and catch more and try to get more buyers," she added, citing the bottle-nosed dolphin as an example. Japanese fishermen, she said, catch them by the thousands because every year a few are sold for US$20,000 to US$30,000 to water parks in China and elsewhere. The rest, seen as competition for fish, are killed.

In Taiwanese waters, whale sharks are usually caught in position nets, which are designed to catch other large fish, such as bluefin tuna and mackerel. These nets funnel the fish into ever-smaller nets and cause minimal harm, making fish captured this way attractive candidates for an aquarium.

Whale sharks have long been occasional items on Taiwanese dinner plates. They're called "tofu sharks" (豆腐鯊魚) - though Taiwanese conservationists now seem to prefer the more politically correct "whale shark" (鯨鯊) - because, like tofu, their meat is soft and flavorless. It must be smoked and eaten with wasabi and soy sauce, or stir-fried with garlic, chili, and other heavy ingredients to make it palatable.

Fishermen traditionally did not fish for whale sharks, but media coverage of the big swimmers as an exotic food instigated commercial hunting a decade ago. The average price for whale shark meat in recent years was NT$200 per kilogram, meaning a typical specimen would sell for NT$200,000 to NT$300,000.

According to the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), Taiwan was possibly the world's largest market for whale shark meat. Some 32.5 tonnes of meat were obtained from legal harvests in 2004 in a survey of only two major wholesale fishery markets, one in Taipei, the other in Taichung. The same year, Taiwanese consumed 68.5 tonnes of whale shark.

Conservationists have long pushed for the government to ban the trade and consumption of whale shark meat. Data collected by the National Ocean University in Keelung shows that both the number and average size of whale sharks sighted in Taiwanese waters has declined slowly but steadily over the past six years. The Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Regulation Division says it has been monitoring the situation and decided in 2000 to phase out whale shark fishing, an official said.

Though there is some dispute, the Georgia Aquarium likely helped speed this process. This year saw the death of the first pair of Taiwanese whale sharks, males named Ralph and Norton after characters in the television series The Honeymooners. Ralph sank to the bottom of Ocean Voyager exhibit in January. Norton was euthanized under similar circumstances in June. Both had shown signs of illness and had been force-fed through PVC tubes for months. The aquarium is still investigating the cause of the deaths but has indicated that a chemical used to clean the tank may have been the culprit. Alice and Trixie, who arrived later, were not exposed to the chemical.

In addition to creating a public relations disaster for the Georgia Aquarium, Ralph's death threatened its agreement with Taiwan to import a final pair of whale sharks. There was an understanding that a total of six whale sharks would be sent to Atlanta, and three of the giant fish, named Alishan, Yushan and Taroko, were being held in the ocean just off Hualien while scientists monitored their health and decided which two were to go.

The three fish were among the 30 Taiwan allowed fishermen to catch and sell this year under a quota system. Originally set at 80, the quota has been steadily reduced until this year, when it was reached in March. In May the government announced it had banned the fishing, trade, and consumption of whale sharks entirely. If a Taiwanese aquarium should decide in the future that it wanted a whale shark, it would have to get one from another country.

Critics of the Georgia Aquarium in the US speculated that the final ban was related to Ralph's death. The Georgia Aquarium, however, has suggested its work with Taiwan helped push the government in the right direction. In an interview on Thursday, Georgia Aquarium President Jeff Swanagan said he believed the aquarium had "some influence." Elaborating on this comment Friday in an e-mail exchange, spokesman Dave Santucci wrote: "The role we played was to raise the global awareness of whale sharks by the 5 million guests we've had here in the first 18 months and the billions we've reached through the media."

Huang Ming-ho (黃明和), Director of the Council of Agriculture's Fisheries Regulation Division, says the complete ban had been a target for years and that neither Ralph's death nor advice from Georgia had anything to do with it. This opinion was seconded by Liu Kwang-ming (劉光明) a professor who specializes in shark research at the National Ocean University in Keelung, and a graduate student there.

Lin Tze-tong (林慈烔), who runs an air cargo service and helped transport the sharks, disagrees. "There was definitely a growing awareness that whale sharks needed to be protected," said Lin, who has also overseen the shipment of koalas and gorillas to the Taipei Zoo. "But when the government saw how much the Georgia Aquarium valued these fish, it made officials more serious about conservation." Ironically, he added, "the deaths of Ralph and Norton also aided conservation in Taiwan because they forced the government to investigate the issue and explain to Taiwan's media what they were doing to protect whale sharks."

The fisheries division postponed the transfer of the final two whale sharks until the Georgia Aquarium adequately explained Ralph's death and gave a more thorough explanation of how the sharks would be cared for and of the scientific value of keeping them in captivity.

Huang said the department ultimately approved the transfer of the final two whale sharks, Taroko and Yushan, because the Georgia Aquarium was conducting research that could not be done in the field, running a top-notch educational program, and had demonstrated that it could take better care of the giant fish than Taiwan's National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium in Hengchun (恆春), near Kaohsiung, where the whale shark population has fallen from three to one after one animal died and the other fell ill and was released.

Even though Norton died soon after Yushan and Taroko arrived, the transfer of the Taiwanese whale sharks to the Georgia Aquarium seems to have improved Taiwan's image abroad, US conservationists say. "The fact that this trade was going on and there was hunting going on prior to the ban was a negative thing," Rose said. "When the ban was put into place, it got pretty good coverage."

"We applaud Taiwan for its leadership in conservation," Swanagan said. "I think our affiliation has helped people understand the incredible commitment Taiwan has to environmental stewardship."
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