Fighting for the ocean
Wanghaixiang Bay has a total area of 250 hectares, but for the pilot project the Keelung City Government first demarcated an area of 15 hectares as a demonstration zone. If this proves successful, the protected area will be expanded step by step. However, it was no easy feat to lay claim to even these first 15 hectares.
NMMST deputy director Lin Ching-hai well understands the urgency of marine conservation. Coming from a Keelung fishing family himself, he recalls how as a child he would see countless fishing boats clustered together in Zhengbin Fishing Harbor, and how even 30 years ago a fish trading business could earn revenues of over NT$1 million in a day. In contrast, today’s fishing industry, beset by overfishing, is in decline. The usually soft-spoken Lin’s voice is filled with determination when he talks about conservation, which he actively promoted during his term as director-general of the Keelung City Department of Economic Affairs.
However, says Lin, simply to rely on the willpower of civil servants is far from enough. “This kind of thing must be based on the collective wisdom and efforts of all stakeholders.” Through six years of consultation meetings with fishermen, advocates for the protected area succeeded in evoking an emotional connection between local residents and the sea, as well as their sense of local pride, so that quite a number of fishermen even agreed to organize joint patrols with the Coast Guard to police illegal fishing. Locally based scientific institutions like National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU) and the NMMST are responsible for providing scientific research data, and also assist in releases of fish fry. More than 1,000 volunteers and fishing families have been mobilized for ocean cleanup activities, raising conservation awareness among participants and giving them a sense of personal investment in the enterprise.
In addition, the Keelung City Government showed its goodwill by not only banning the use of gillnets within 500 meters of shore but also by allocating funds to subsidize the recycling of such nets, to encourage fishermen to switch to other fishing methods. Even better, these various measures received the support of many elected representatives and were widely reported on in the local media, creating a synergistic effect.
Thus one can say that the establishment of the Wanghaixiang Chaojing Bay Resource Conservation Area, as the MPA is now known, was won by the concerted efforts of people from government, industry, and academic institutions including the Keelung City Government, NTOU, elected officials, fishermen, and the media, as well as volunteers and local residents.
At the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology, located close by the Wanghaixiang Chaojing Bay Conservation Area, visitors can see undersea scenery in real time via underwater cameras.