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South Penghu Marine National Park () is a national park of
South Penghu Marine National Park is between 23°14' and 23°17' N, and between 119°30' and 119°40' E. It is in Wangan Township. Its total area is about 358.44 km2, with 354.73 km2 of water and 3.70 km2 of land. The islands have
Taiwan
Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...
in the south of Penghu Islands
The Penghu (, Hokkien POJ: ''Phîⁿ-ô͘'' or ''Phêⁿ-ô͘'' ) or Pescadores Islands are an archipelago of 90 islands and islets in the Taiwan Strait, located approximately west from the main island of Taiwan, covering an are ...
. The marine park includes the islands of Dongjiyu, Xijiyu, Dongyupingyu, Xiyupingyu, other smaller islets and surrounding waters. It is managed by the Marine National Park Headquarters.
History
There were once thousands of people living on the islands. Because the area has little transportation and few jobs, the population has decreased, and there are now only about 50 people. In 2008, cold weather in Penghu killed a lot of marine life. The southern part of Penghu was less affected because it is at a lower latitude and was warmer. One of the reasons that the national park was established was that it could support a lot of marine life and become a "germplasm bank" of Penghu. The Penghu Columnar Basalt Nature Reserve Nanhai, containing Dongjiyu, Xijiyu and a few smaller islands, was established in 2008. South Penghu Marine National Park was established on 8 June 2014 and opened on 18 October 2014. Fishing is restricted in parts of the park. Some fishermen are concerned that the restrictions will affect fishing. The Marine National Park Headquarters says that the restrictions will make the fishing more sustainable.Description
South Penghu Marine National Park is between 23°14' and 23°17' N, and between 119°30' and 119°40' E. It is in Wangan Township. Its total area is about 358.44 km2, with 354.73 km2 of water and 3.70 km2 of land. The islands have basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90 ...
landforms, including columnar basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the surface of a rocky planet or moon. More than 90% o ...
. There are abandoned houses and a few temples on the islands. There are also walls built of stone, called "cai zhai", that were used to protect vegetables from strong winds. There is a lighthouse on Dongjiyu. The " Blue Cave" is a sea cave
A sea cave, also known as a littoral cave, is a type of cave formed primarily by the wave action of the sea. The primary process involved is erosion. Sea caves are found throughout the world, actively forming along present coastlines and as relic ...
on Xijiyu.
Ecology
Many species of migratory birds, such astern
Terns are seabirds in the family Laridae that have a worldwide distribution and are normally found near the sea, rivers, or wetlands. Terns are treated as a subgroup of the family Laridae which includes gulls and skimmers and consists of e ...
s, visit the islands. Small numbers of dolphin
A dolphin is an aquatic mammal within the infraorder Cetacea. Dolphin species belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontoporiidae (the ...
s and smaller whale
Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...
s have recently returned to the waters while large baleen whales may still be in serious peril or became regionally extinct such as gray whales as the fossils discovered from here became the first records of the species from Taiwanese waters. There are coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s and many kinds of marine animals in the sea. 254 species of fish, including 28 newly discovered species, have been recorded. There are 154 species of coral. There are also aquatic plants. Part of the warm Kuroshio Current
The , also known as the Black or or the is a north-flowing, warm ocean current on the west side of the North Pacific Ocean basin. It was named for the deep blue appearance of its waters. Similar to the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic, the Ku ...
flows to Penghu, supporting the marine life.
Since 2010, the Marine National Park Headquarters and some other organizations have inspected the coral reefs and removed crown-of-thorns starfish, which eat coral. No large populations of crown-of-thorns starfish were found in 2014 and 2015. It is unclear if this was caused by the removal of the crown-of-thorns starfish or the life cycle of the starfish.
See also
* National parks of TaiwanReferences
External links
* {{authority control 2014 establishments in Taiwan National parks of Taiwan Protected areas established in 2014 Geography of Penghu County Tourist attractions in Penghu County Marine reserves