Taiwan Today

Typhoon Morakot that swept across southern Taiwan in early August not only resulted in widespread devastation on land but also led to large-scale damage to coral reefs along the coast of the mainland and surrounding the offshore islands. The destruction caused by the powerful storm only added to the stresses faced by Taiwan’s coral reefs, which are already disappearing at an astonishing rate, according to the results of a survey by conservation groups released Nov. 1. The monitoring mission found that coral reef coverage in waters surrounding the diver’s paradise Orchid Island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan proper has declined from 68 percent five years ago to only 18 percent today. The 2009 Reef Check study was carried out by the Taiwan Environmental Information Association and the Taiwan Association for Marine Environmental Education between May and September. A total of 16 sites in six areas were surveyed, including coastal waters in northeast Taiwan, Green Island off the east coast, Orchid Island, as well as Xiaoliuqiu Island located 15 kilometers west of Donggang Township, Pingtung County. Lulu Keng, one of the many volunteers around Taiwan who helped in conducting the survey, said the results come as a surprise to everyone, noting that the highest average coral reef coverage rate was recorded in northeastern Taiwan, with about 30 percent. The highest rate in this region was 52 percent, she added. Many of the areas surveyed were hit hard by Typhoon Morakot, including Orchid Island and Xiaoliuqiu Island, where the average coral reef coverage was found to be just 17.8 percent and 20 percent, respectively. Allen Chen, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Biodiversity Research Center, said that three types of damage to the coral reefs resulted from the typhoon. The most severe was that caused by the storm’s churning of the seas, scouring and uprooting large portions of the coral. Another source of damage, Chen continued, was the tons of driftwood washed out into the seas in the wake of the storm that acted like “a hammer” battering the coral reefs. Thirdly, the vast volumes of water surging into the sea from rain-deluged mountain areas and containing large amounts of soil, gravel and other debris added to the destruction, he said. Describing the devastation, Chen said that “it was like the coral reefs were crushed by a steam roller, or ripped apart in a juice blender.” Of the 16 sites surveyed, 75 percent were found failing the minimum international standard set for coral reef health, namely coral cover of at least 37.5 percent. Since 2004, Taiwan’s coral reefs, battered by a series of typhoons and suffering from a new scourge known as atramentous necrosis, or black death, have been disappearing at a steady rate. Coral reef coverage around Orchid Island has dropped from 68 percent to 18 percent in that period, while coral cover in Green Island’s waters has declined from 64 percent to 45 percent. (SB)