【More Protected Areas Mean Nothing Without Enforcement!】Ocean Encyclopaedia: A Fresh Look at Marine Protected Areas — Part 2

In our previous article, we laid out a clear and accessible case for why marine protected areas (MPAs) matter (【Are Marine Protected Areas the Best Answer for Ocean Sustainability?】Ocean Encyclopaedia: A Fresh Look at Marine Protected Areas — Part 1). We also planted a seed at the end of that piece — a hint that simply announcing a protected area on paper is far from the finish line. Follow-through enforcement and monitoring are in fact the critical factors that determine whether an MPA truly succeeds. Rather than leaving things at rhetoric, this article draws on the research of Dr. Li Cheng-Lu to let the data tell the story of what makes an MPA succeed or fail.

Are Taiwan's Marine Protected Areas Thriving?

If the picture painted in the previous article were accurate, the waters around Taiwan should be flourishing. So why do news stories about depleted fish stocks keep appearing? Recall the hint we buried earlier: the definition of an MPA under the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the regulations published by Taiwan's Fisheries Agency are, in practice, remarkably vague. In Taiwan, the government has delegated the authority to define what constitutes an MPA — including its boundaries, prohibited activities, fishing methods, restricted hours, and even penalty powers — to individual county and city governments and the relevant maritime authorities.

In the early days, Taiwan lacked a single unified authority over ocean affairs. The legislative logic that resulted from this gap means that a single stretch of water can fall under the jurisdiction of multiple agencies at once. Take the Wanghaixiang Chaojing Bay Marine Resource Conservation Area as an example: the push to demarcate the zone was led by the Keelung City Bureau of Industry and Development; the rules governing use of the MPA fall under the Tourism and Transportation Department (which has been the source of recent controversy over the ban on night diving); enforcement is carried out by the Coast Guard Administration; yet the power to impose penalties loops back to the Keelung City Government. Fortunately, thanks to strict enforcement by the Keelung City Government and the dedicated attention of the diving community, the Wanghaixiang Chaojing Bay Marine Resource Conservation Area has become one of the most successful MPAs in Taiwan — small in area, but a genuine leader.

But what has become of Taiwan's other protected areas? According to the Fisheries Agency's website, MPAs designated under the Fisheries Act, the National Park Act, the Wildlife Conservation Act, the Cultural Heritage Preservation Act, and the Tourism Development Act together cover approximately 30,035 square kilometres — about 46.15% of Taiwan's territorial sea area of 65,076 square kilometres. How effective enforcement has actually been is something most people already have a feel for.

Take Houbihu Marine Resource Conservation Area, located between Nanwan and Maobitou in Kenting National Park, where divers have occasionally been spotted hunting fish with spearguns. In recent years, incidents have occurred at Green Island, Xiaoliuqiu, and Penghu, where local residents were caught fishing inside protected zones. When the Coast Guard stepped in to take action, officers were surrounded by fishermen and even subjected to violent intimidation — a remarkable and deeply troubling situation. Under such poor rule-of-law conditions, poaching has only grown worse.

The problem of lax enforcement involves many layers: unclear jurisdictional boundaries, insufficient enforcement manpower, inadequate professional training for officers, and the interference of local elected officials. But there is an even deeper, more fundamental issue — a pervasive indifference among the Taiwanese public toward regulations and ocean issues. Over the years, the author has witnessed a number of senior dive instructors and marine recreation operators who spend their days working in the ocean tourism industry, then transform at night into seasoned poachers leading illegal fishing raids inside protected areas. It is a dispiriting sight.

Let the Data Speak: The Stark Gap in MPA Outcomes

After all of that, what does the concrete evidence actually show about the effectiveness of establishing MPAs? Let the data do the talking. According to the 2018 ecological survey report on artificial reef zones and aquatic species reproduction conservation areas in northeastern Taiwan, published by the Fisheries Agency, Wanghaixiang ranked higher than all other northern MPAs that had been established for longer — in both number of fish species and number of individual fish. The fish biomass bar charts tell an equally clear story: Wanghaixiang Bay far outpaced every other northern MPA in fish biomass across subtidal, intertidal, and tidal pool zones.

Beyond the differences between sites, comparing the 2010 and 2018 survey results reveals something remarkable. Just two years after Wanghaixiang Bay Conservation Area was established — by 2018 — species count had doubled compared to 2010, and individual fish count had grown fivefold — a rate of increase more than four times greater than that of the other northern MPAs. In terms of fish biomass, Wanghaixiang Bay not only had more fish overall, but also more large fish exceeding 30 cm in body length than any other protected area. Its 2018 fish biomass was 18 times that of 2010, and between 8 and 20 times that of the other conservation areas.

Wanghaixiang: The Top-Ranked Marine Protected Area

Though Wanghaixiang Conservation Area had only been established for two years and covers an area smaller than a single football pitch, the results of strict Coast Guard enforcement and diver community monitoring are unmistakable — it ranked first among all seven northern MPAs. Meanwhile, other designated areas such as Keelung Waimushan, Wanli Yehliu, and Ruifang Shen-ao, despite having protected status on paper, have seen fish populations decline year after year due to a complete lack of management and rampant poaching. The 2018 biomass survey even recorded results below 50 grams per unit area at some of these sites. The data make it clear: a rigorously enforced MPA is highly effective at ecological restoration and habitat diversification. MPA outcomes, however, depend on long-term monitoring. We hope the government will sustain its focus on marine conservation, allocate sufficient research funding to survey the MPAs that cover 46.15% of Taiwan's 65,076-square-kilometre territorial sea, and that the Ocean Affairs Council — established under the Executive Yuan in 2018 — will rise to the challenge of serving as Taiwan's single unified ocean authority.

Three Key Ecosystem Indicators for Evaluating Marine Protected Areas

From the data above, we have already seen several key metrics used to assess MPAs: species count, individual count, and biomass per unit area. These three indicators primarily reveal the health of the ecosystem in a given stretch of water. A complete coral reef ecosystem requires producers, a diverse range of consumers, apex predators, and specific functional groups that keep algae in check and signal coral health — all of which are critical markers of ecosystem vitality. Geographically, these zones can be divided into three areas: subtidal, intertidal, and tidal pool. In the next instalment, we will approach this from an ecosystem perspective and explore what indicator species a truly healthy marine ecosystem should contain — so the next time you go diving or snorkeling, you'll be able to judge for yourself whether that patch of ocean is thriving!

One final note before we wrap up — if you're someone who loves the ocean, or simply wants to rediscover it, we highly recommend the Ocean Encyclopaedia — Northern Taiwan Edition, published by BlueTrend!

Books.com.tw purchase link: Support Ocean Encyclopaedia

Cover illustration: Lin Qun

The content of this article has been reviewed and revised with professional input from Dr. Wox Lee (Li Cheng-Lu).

MPA Bonus Feature

Above we looked at data from several northern Taiwan conservation areas. Now let's take a look at southern Taiwan — the waters around Xiaoliuqiu (renowned as a sea turtle paradise) and Kenting — and see what their underwater ecosystems actually look like!

Xiaoliuqiu zone divisions:

• Northwest Zone = Vase Rock area

• Shanfu Zone = near Shanfu

• Island Circuit Zone = near Dafu West Fishing Harbor

• Yufu Zone = near Lobster Cave (Agui Diving area)

Southern Taiwan is home to a diverse coral reef ecosystem — and yet these figures are far lower than those seen in the north. Most ocean lovers probably already have a sense of why. We hope that someday, our Ocean Encyclopaedia team and fellow ocean enthusiasts will be able to work together to survey and protect the precious marine ecosystems of southern Taiwan — and watch these numbers improve year by year.

Further reading:

• 【More Protected Areas Mean Nothing Without Enforcement!】Ocean Encyclopaedia: A Fresh Look at Marine Protected Areas — Part 2

• Experiencing a Different Kind of Marine Protected Area, Part 1 — Wanggong Austinogebia edulis Reproduction Conservation Area

• Can I Be a Citizen Science Instructor at Fushan Fisheries Resources Conservation Area?