true

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

ISRA FACTSHEETS

ASIA REGION

Taitung ISRA

36/122

Taitung ISRA

Taitung

Summary

Taitung is located in southeastern Taiwan. The area is characterised by a narrow continental shelf that drops steeply to depths larger than 1,000 m very close to the shoreline. The area overlaps with the Chihben Wetlands Key Biodiversity Area and with six marine protected areas. Within the area there are: threatened species and undefined aggregations (Whale Shark Rhincodon typus).

Taitung

Taitung

DESCRIPTION OF HABITAT

Taitung is located in southeastern Taiwan. The area is characterised by a narrow continental shelf that drops sharply to depths larger than 1,000 m very close to the shoreline (Yang et al. 2020).

The area is influenced by the Kuroshio Current which produces upwelling and turbulent mixing that increases productivity especially during the boreal summer (June–August) (Cheng et al. 2020).

The area overlaps with the Chihben Wetlands Key Biodiversity Area (KBA 2024) and with six marine protected areas: the Yiwan, Xiaogang, Xiaoma, Fushan, and Ludao Aquatic Organisms Propagation and Conservation Zones, and the Ludao Haishenping to Fanchuanbi Marine Resources Conservation Area.

This Important Shark and Ray Area is pelagic and is delineated from inshore and surface waters (0 m) to 900 m based on the bathymetry of the area.

CRITERION A

VULNERABILITY

One Qualifying Species within the area is considered threatened with extinction according to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The Whale Shark is assessed as Endangered (Pierce & Norman 2016).

CRITERION C

SUB-CRITERION C5 – UNDEFINED AGGREGATIONS

Taitung is an important area for undefined aggregations of one shark species.

Between 2001–2008, 198 Whale Sharks with an average size of 443 cm total length (TL) were landed in Taitung by trap set nets and spearfishing operating in the area (Hsu et al. 2012). Individuals were caught year-round, with a peak from January to May (Hsu et al. 2012; Cruz et al. 2013). Taitung was the location in Taiwan where a larger number of individuals were caught in that period compared to other areas (Hsu et al. 2012). After a fishing ban on Whale Sharks was established in 2008, hundreds of individuals were still caught in set nets along the Taitung coast every year (Hsu pers. obs. 2023). Between 2022–2023, 44 Whale Sharks were caught by these nets in the area, with larger numbers between June and October (Hsu unpubl. data 2023). Set nets are between 200–500 m long and generally catch a single Whale Shark. However, frequently they can catch aggregations of 3–5 Whale Sharks with a maximum of nine Whale Sharks caught in a single net (Hsu unpubl. data 2023). More information is needed to confirm the nature and function of these aggregations.

Taitung

SUBMIT A REQUEST

ISRA SPATIAL LAYER REQUEST

To make a request to download the ISRA Layer in either a GIS compatible Shapefile (.shp) or Google Earth compatible Keyhole Markup Language Zipped file (.kmz) please complete the following form. We will review your request and send the download details to you. We will endeavor to send you the requested files as soon as we can. However, please note that this is not an automated process, and before requests are responded to, they undergo internal review and authorization. As such, requests normally take 5–10 working days to process.

Should you have questions about the data or process, please do not hesitate to contact us.

    * indicates required

    Industry or sector (*)

    Under the terms and conditions of our User License Agreement , full and appropriate acknowledgement is required in any materials and publications derived from the data (and copies should be sent to the IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group through the contact form). For any publications making substantial use of the data, the ISRA welcomes the opportunity for co-authorship, collaboration, and to comment prior to publication.


    Furthermore, we need to know whether you are a commercial or non-commercial user. Non-commercial includes scientific research, education or conservation. Commercial is defined as follows: any use by, on behalf of, or to inform or assist the activities of a commercial entity (that operates ‘for profit’) or use by a non-profit for the purposes of revenue generation

    Type of use(*):

    Please specify which layer (ex. all layers, layers within a specific Region, layers within a Jurisdiction or a single ISRA): Purpose (*):

    Please provide a description of how you intend to use the ISRA GIS Dataset. The more details you provide, the faster we can respond to your request. We may require further clarification prior to providing access. (min. 100 characters – max 1,000 characters)



    File format request (*)

    By providing your personal data, you consent to its processing as described below. The IUCN SSC Shark Specialist Group will use the information you provide on this form to send the documents you requested. You can change your mind at any time by writing to the ISRA Data Coordinator www.sharkrayareas.org/contact. All personal details provided will be treated with respect. For any information you can visit our Privacy Policy.
    Please read the User License Agreement and ISRA Layer Metadata Description

    This form uses Google reCaptcha to reduce spam. Privacy - Terms