Marine National Park Headquarters recently declared victory in the battle to stop the crown-of-thorns starfish from destroying the coral reefs in the recently founded Four Southern Islets Marine National Park in Taiwan’s outlying Penghu Islands.
“After research fellow Jeng Ming-shiou of Academia Sinica sounded the warning over an explosion of the starfish population and consequent damage to reefs, we began removing starfish in 2011,” MNPH Deputy Director Lu Chi-kwan said.
“Last year we removed 181 mature starfish, each about 35 centimeters across, from southwestern waters of Xiji Islet,” Lu said. “This year, we did not find any trace of starfish damage in this area and were excited to discover fresh coral polyps.”
MNPH also surveyed the reefs along eight routes, with highly satisfactory results. “In the waters off Dongyuping Islet, the coral reef coverage rate has reached 75 percent and we also saw signs that the trumpet triton, a mollusk that is a major natural predator of the starfish, had reappeared after years of overfishing,” Lu explained.
“Coral reef coverage around Xiji Islet rebounded from 46 percent last year to 65 percent this year,” he added.
Previously, starfish numbers had been on the rise in the park area, with 100 removed in 2011. Dissection of samples also showed the female starfish had become more fertile with an enlarged reproductive gland. To stop the population explosion, MNPH staff changed tactics, conducting their sweep right before the mating season, Lu said.
The park, established in June this year, comprises Dongji, Dongyuping, Xiji and Xiyuping islets, as well as their surrounding waters. Work stations on Dongji and Dongyuping islets are due to be completed by the end of September. (SSC-SDH)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw