Joining the Global Effort: Creating an Oasis for Whales and Dolphins on Taiwan's East Coast!

the Editor says: Did you know that Taiwan's east coast, swept by the Kuroshio Current, is home to a remarkably rich marine ecosystem? What you might not know is that human activities are increasingly threatening the survival of whales and dolphins here. The latest reports from the United Nations and WWF underscore the urgency of expanding marine protected areas, and the Ocean Oasis Project is doing exactly that — conducting in-depth research on spinner dolphins and Risso's dolphins while working to have this beautiful stretch of ocean designated as an Important Marine Mammal Area (IMMA). Want to learn more? Join BlueTrend in creating an ocean oasis for whales and dolphins! Full article reprinted from: Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation.

Our island of Taiwan sits on the western edge of the Pacific Ocean, its eastern coastline pressed close against open water. The warm Kuroshio Current flows steadily and ceaselessly past, profoundly shaping the island's seasons — keeping its forests lush and verdant. The island's beauty was once praised with the name "Formosa." Though scholars have debated whether that name truly referred to Taiwan, anyone who has gazed back at the island from the sea will understand why the feeling of wonder it inspires never quite fades.

Beyond Strategy and Trade — Cetacean Conservation as a New Kind of Advantage

When Taiwan's geographic position comes up in conversation, most people's minds jump to military strategy or maritime trade. But from the perspective of Earth's biosphere, Taiwan's location is equally critical — even irreplaceable — for many species. Yet far too many human activities fail to account for environmental sustainability, and the whales and dolphins living in these waters face mounting threats: climate change, fishing, shipping, exploration, and development are all fragmenting and imperiling their habitat.

In 2021, the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity held its 15th Conference of the Parties in Kunming, clearly affirming both the importance and urgency of expanding protected areas worldwide. In February 2022, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) published its report Protecting Blue Corridors, which documented how bycatch and fishing debris affect cetaceans across ocean basins around the globe.

Whales and dolphins may seem to have vast expanses of ocean to roam, but in reality their feeding and migratory routes frequently overlap with fishing grounds — and that is where harm occurs. Take the Risso's dolphin, one of the most commonly sighted cetaceans along the east coast. Through photo-identification analysis of body scars, we can see wounds consistent with entanglement in fishing line and hook injuries. On other cetaceans, we observe dorsal fins that may have been cut by fishing line or propellers, as well as animals entangled in fishing nets — all reflecting the very real threats facing the waters where they live.

The Ocean Oasis — Cetacean Conservation Starting from the Ground Up

More than 20 species of whales and dolphins have been recorded along Taiwan's east coast. Some, like spinner dolphins and Risso's dolphins, are spotted with considerable regularity. Others — pilot whales, false killer whales, sperm whales, and orca — appear intermittently. And each spring, humpback whales pass through on migration. Despite this impressive species diversity, our understanding of the ecology and behavior of most of these cetaceans remains extremely limited.

For the rarer species, the low number of sightings makes it impossible to gather enough data to draw meaningful ecological conclusions — a challenge that can only be addressed through long-term data collection. Yet even for the spinner dolphin (sighting rate in Hualien: 51.7%) and Risso's dolphin (sighting rate in Hualien: 25.3%) — species that are likely resident along the east coast and observed frequently — our knowledge of their behavioral ecology remains very thin beyond sighting rates and behavioral records. In this situation, developing evidence-based, proactive conservation strategies is simply not yet feasible.

That is why Kuroshio launched the Ocean Oasis Project: a three-year survey program focused on spinner dolphins and Risso's dolphins. Through sustained behavioral observation, the project aims to understand how these animals use the habitat around Hualien — where they might feed, where they rest, where mothers nurse their young. If we can gain a clearer picture of the relationship between their key life-cycle needs and specific habitats, we will be far better positioned to propose meaningful conservation strategies.

While spinner dolphins and Risso's dolphins are both currently listed as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List globally, population-level threats vary significantly depending on local environmental conditions and the nature of human activity in any given area. Local surveys and assessments are therefore essential for understanding and protecting their habitat. And protecting that habitat matters not only for the cetaceans that reside here year-round, but also for the many other species that pass through or frequent these waters.

Joining the Global Relay — Protecting the Borderless Blue Corridors of Whales

The Risso's dolphins commonly seen off Hualien may not win instant admiration — their appearance is rather unremarkable, and they carry the calm, almost aloof composure of great whales. Yet globally, Risso's dolphins are known to inhabit continental shelf edges and deep-water environments, where they dive to depths of 200–1,000 m to hunt their primary prey: cephalopods. The ocean environment off Hualien and Taitung fits this profile perfectly, which is why Risso's dolphins can be observed so frequently on whale-watching trips that are neither long in duration nor far from shore. Few places in the world offer this kind of accessibility to the species, making Taiwan's geographic setting all the more precious.

Spring brings the prospect of humpback whales migrating past the east coast. Their stories are already well known around the world. Although they do not reside in these waters, sightings have been recorded here since the spring of 2003, and in recent years reports have arrived almost every spring — some from whale-watching vessels, others from observers on Orchid Island or Green Island. Each arrival is greeted with great anticipation. Yet there is cause for concern too: in 2018, veteran Kuroshio naturalist guide Jin Lei photographed a humpback calf with fishing net entangled around its mouth; and in 2021, news reports described a dive boat whose passengers attempted to jump in and swim with a whale before being stopped by the Coast Guard. These incidents highlight both the environmental risks these animals face and the gaps that remain in our conservation frameworks.

Cetaceans recognize no borders in their movements. Protecting them in an international context demands cooperation and coordination among nations, so that migratory corridors and core activity areas can be managed to minimize potential threats. Taiwan's east coast is not only home to resident cetacean populations — it is also a transit zone for oceanic and migratory species. Through conservation action, we have a real opportunity to contribute to global efforts.

Protecting Whales and Dolphins Is Protecting Ourselves

In 2016, international organizations focused on marine mammal conservation began actively convening regional workshops to develop the framework for Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMAs) — identifying ocean environments around the world that are critical to whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals. The IMMA framework provides powerful support for the designation of marine protected areas (MPAs) and advances more effective global marine mammal conservation. As part of the Ocean Oasis Project, Kuroshio will draw on its long history of monitoring Hualien's waters — analyzing past sighting records and relevant literature, and conducting surveys of cetacean habitat use and potential threats — with the goal of applying for IMMA recognition for this region.

We hope to give more back to the ocean and to raise the quality of whale-watching experiences, working toward a vision of peaceful coexistence between people and the sea, people and cetaceans. Realizing this local-scale vision of an ocean oasis will require bringing together government agencies, fishers, industry operators (whale-watching, marine tourism, and more), the Coast Guard, the military, and every one of you who cares about the ocean and the lives within it — only then can we build something that truly connects to the global effort.

The first step may be the hardest, but in the end it is not only the whales and dolphins that benefit from conservation action. Healthy cetacean populations help sustain healthy ocean ecosystems, and healthy oceans ultimately sustain us. As WWF's Chris Johnson put it: "Protecting the blue corridors of whales will help protect our oceans and ourselves." We hope that by bringing more people together, we can create a true oasis for whales and dolphins on Taiwan's east coast.

References

1. The Origin of the Name "Formosa"
2. World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), PROTECTING BLUE CORRIDORS.
3. International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
4. Marine Mammal Protected Areas Task Force, IMMA website
5. Original article reprinted from: Kuroshio Ocean Education Foundation【Joining the Global Effort, Creating an Oasis for Whales and Dolphins on the East Coast!】

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