In the News

Orchid Island coral reefs face oblivion: report

• Publication Date：07/29/2010
• Source： China Times

The coral reef ecological system in waters surrounding the outlying island of Lanyu, also known as Orchid Island, faces the threat of complete collapse nearly one year after the devastation wrought by Typhoon Morakot, according to a research report released July 28.

The report was compiled by the Taiwan Ocean Research Institute under the National Applied Research Laboratories that has been monitoring the state of the coral reefs in the region since Morakot struck last August.

In the report, the institute said that severe battering of the coral reefs on the seabed around Orchid Island by massive waves generated by the storm resulted in a steep drop in the live coral coverage rate in the area.

Kao Chia-chuen, director of the institute, noted that Orchid Island bore the brunt of the typhoon that originated in the Pacific Ocean and swept across Taiwan from east to west. He said the storm gave rise to huge waves measuring nearly 10 meters in height between Hualien County on the east coast of Taiwan proper and the outlying island.

According to the institute’s findings, the live coral coverage rate off Orchid Island stood at 54.9 percent prior to the storm in July 2009. Measurements in September showed that the coverage rate had dropped to 14.1 percent, with as much as 74 percent of the reefs being wiped out by the waves during the typhoon. It pointed out that even coral reefs as deep as seven storeys below the surface of the sea were not spared during the storm’s onslaught.

Further measurements in March 2010 revealed that the situation had deteriorated even further, with the live coral coverage rate dropping to just 7.9 percent, posing a serious threat to the ecosystem’s continued survival.

Another notable finding by the institute was that the seaweed coverage rate in the area increased sharply in the wake of Typhoon Morakot, rising more than 15-fold from just 3 percent in September 2009 to a staggering 49.5 percent in March of this year. The seaweed has been squeezing the coral reef’s room to grow, has resulted in a decline in biodiversity, and has presented difficulties for coral reef rehabilitation in the region.

“If this situation continues, we’re concerned that the coral reefs around Orchid Island will completely disappear,” the institute said in the report. “The task of finding ways to save the coral is one that can no longer be put off to a later date,” it added.

The dire situation has attracted the attention of international marine ecologists, who have invited Taiwan to take part in a global coral reef monitoring web. The Global Coral Reef Alliance plans to visit Orchid Island when it holds an international symposium in Taiwan this coming summer. (SB)