Invasive Species Take Over Taitung Wetland

Local species are being outcompeted in an important eastern Taiwan wetland by invasive turtles, fish and plants.

Transcript

00:00 A newcomer to the Dapo Pond in eastern Taiwan, a place recognized since 2016 as an important

00:07 wetland area.

00:09 This red-eared slider turtle, a popular pet native to the Americas, has taken over here,

00:14 out-competing local turtles and leaving them nowhere to live.

00:18 After these photos made the rounds online, inspectors went in search of eggs, but didn't

00:22 find any.

00:23 And they're not the only recent arrivals.

00:25 Invasive sucker-mouth catfish and snakehead murrel are in the water, and on firm spots

00:30 of ground, a highly poisonous invasive plant called Santa Maria feverfew.

00:36 Some locals have admitted they've released fish and turtles here.

00:39 In theory, there's a fine of over 9,000 US dollars for doing that, but there's not much

00:43 sign of enforcement.

00:45 It's something that has environmentalists concerned.

00:47 "Sometimes, people think it's a good thing to release them, but if you're a species

00:52 and you release them, it's a disaster."

00:56 There have been efforts to fight back against these invasive species.

00:59 For seven years, there's been fishing contests aimed at catching the non-native fish.

01:03 And the local government office has hired people to eradicate Santa Maria feverfew.

01:07 But it's made little impact, and local officials say the money on offer isn't enough.

01:12 They can only ask people not to release anything into the wetland, and try to identify what

01:17 species may be invasive.

01:19 "We can request the government office to identify if it's a non-native or a native

01:27 fish.

01:28 If it's a native, we'll allow it to be released."

01:29 Local officials say without more resources and more patrols to eradicate the invaders,

01:34 winning the battle to protect native wildlife will be a tall order.

01:38 Luffy Lee and John Van Triest for Taiwan Plus.

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