The Fisheries Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, held an event for World Seagrass Day on March 1, 2024, starting at 10:00 am. The 2024 World Seagrass Day—Penghu Declaration event was the first World Seagrass Day event held in Taiwan, aiming to raise awareness of the importance of seagrass bed restoration and conservation.
According to the Fisheries Research Institute, since the 1930s, the global seagrass area has continued to decline at a rate of one football field every 30 minutes, and the area of lost seagrass has reached 30%. To sustain biodiversity and prevent degradation of the marine environment, in 2020, the United Nations included seagrass ecosystems in the Global Biodiversity Framework and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and designated March 1 as World Seagrass Day, aiming to raise people's awareness of seagrass bed ecosystems, promote seagrass restoration and conservation, and strengthen people's conservation and attention to the ecological environment.
The Penghu Fisheries Biology Research Center of the Fisheries Research Institute is the first institution in Taiwan to invest in seagrass bed restoration and conservation research. It started in 2014 by improving the rhizoid method of seagrass transplantation. So far, 60 square meters of seagrass have been planted in the shallow waters of Tongliang, Penghu County, and the amount of transplanted seagrass has increased by nearly 50 times. During this period, seagrass bed restoration was also carried out in the waters near Chongguang and Hujing. In 2022, the Penghu County Government assisted in setting up Taiwan's first protected area for restoring seagrass in the Chongguang area, which not only increased fishery resources but also had a positive impact on improving marine biodiversity.
To expand the effectiveness of seagrass restoration and conservation, the Fisheries Research Institute will cooperate with CTBC Financial Holding Co., Ltd. this year to promote seagrass restoration and conservation. CTBC Financial Holding is the first company in Taiwan to join the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) and the first to release a nature-related financial disclosure report in accordance with its Framework v1.0. It has long been concerned about nature and biodiversity issues and has contributed to environmental conservation through cooperation with the Penghu Fisheries Biology Research Center and participation in related activities. In addition, in response to the 2050 Zero Carbon Emissions policy, the Fisheries Research Institute has explored the differences in the benefits of seagrass bed enhancement formed by restoration and conservation in different periods and invited the community to participate in seagrass restoration and aquatic seedling release, not only improving the effectiveness of release but also achieving a consensus among the community on seagrass bed protection. It is expected to achieve the goals of restoring seagrass beds, improving biodiversity, increasing fishery resources, and achieving carbon sequestration.