TAIPEI (TVBS News) — New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) on Thursday (June 25) oversaw the release of marine species along the city's northeastern coast as part of an expanded conservation program aimed at restoring coastal ecosystems. The city plans to release 100,000 purple sea urchin seedlings this year following what officials described as a successful pilot rehabilitation program.
Hou emphasized the success of the purple sea urchin (紫海膽) rehabilitation pilot program, which led to this year's expanded release plan. Since 2019, the city has partnered with universities and industry groups to release about 1.09 million juvenile abalone, cuttlefish, sea urchins, and marine fish into local waters. Hou said the initiative could serve as a model for marine biodiversity restoration while supporting sustainable fisheries.
The city has also restored more than 3,500 coral colonies in Mao'ao Bay (卯澳灣) and launched a "Sea Urchin Industry Construction Counseling Plan" (海膽產業構建輔導計畫), which aims to produce 100,000 sea urchin seedlings for local aquaculture. Officials say the program promotes farming sea urchins rather than harvesting them from the wild, helping reduce pressure on natural populations while creating new income opportunities for local fishermen.
As part of Thursday's event, the city transplanted 500 coral colonies and released 100,000 abalone seedlings, 10,000 purple sea urchin seedlings, 1,000 adult sea urchins, 5,000 cuttlefish fry, and 10,000 juvenile reef fish representing several commercially valuable species.
The city's Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Management Office (新北市漁業處) said the Gongliao Marine Resource Restoration Park (貢寮海洋資源復育園區) serves as both a conservation site and an education center. Programs including "Coral School" and marine sustainability lectures have attracted more than 18,000 participants, according to the city.