More than 100 land on Caisancho Island to combat sand erosion

Taipei, Sept. 9 (CNA) More than 100 people traveled to Caisancho Island (外傘頂洲), Taiwan's largest offshore shoal, on Tuesday to help protect it from erosion by building sand-trapping structures from discarded oyster racks.

Organized by the county's Environmental Protection Bureau, more than 100 staff members and volunteers traveled by recreational fishing boats to Caisancho Island, a roughly 1,000-hectare shoal located about 10 kilometers off the coast of Dongshi Township in Chiayi County, to carry out sand-conservation work.

The team reused abandoned bamboo oyster racks, oyster shells and other marine debris to build square-shaped sand-trapping structures, which were anchored to the shoal, the bureau said Wednesday.

The team completed three square structures, each measuring 3 meters in height and width and built with about 300 discarded oyster racks, it added.

The project was carried out in collaboration with the Water Resources Agency under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, with technical guidance from the Tainan Hydraulics Laboratory at National Cheng Kung University.

Chang Hui-chuan (張輝川), director of the Chiayi County Environmental Protection Bureau, said the shoal has long been threatened by erosion due to extreme weather and a declining sediment supply.

Caisancho Island serves as a natural buffer that protects the coastlines of Chiayi and Yunlin counties from wind and waves while helping stabilize the shoreline and providing habitat for marine life, Chang said.

The government has continued efforts in recent years to prevent the shoal from shrinking, he added.

Chang said the campaign serves as a practical effort to protect Taiwan's coastline from the impacts of climate change.

Lin Chun-ju (林春如), a division chief at the Chiayi County Environmental Protection Bureau, said the campaign turns discarded marine debris into structures that help combat sand erosion, putting the principles of a circular economy into practice.