The Ocean Affairs Council (OAC) has designated the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins Wildlife Habitat of Importance since September 1, 2020. In June 2021, the OCA proceeded to promote the "Conservation Plan for the Taiwanese Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin" by integrating various agencies and proposing 4 major directions, 11 specific strategies and 44 priority actions. At present, the white dolphin conservation project has been promoted for one full year, and the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA) has invited various agencies to review work progress. With the joint and concerted efforts of all units, it is hoped that the goal of conserving Taiwan's white dolphin population and habitats will be realized.
The OCA stated that 32 public and private institutions and agencies are involved in the "Conservation Plan for the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin", including the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the Maritime Port Bureau of the MOTC, the National Academy for Educational Research, the Fisheries Research Institute of the COA, the Environmental Protection Administration, the Water Resources Agency of the MOEA, the Industrial Development Bureau of the MOEA, the Bureau of Energy of the MOEA, Taiwan Power Company, the Taiwan International Ports Corporation Limited, the Bureau of Energy, MOEA, as well as counties and municipal governments and fishermen's organizations of regions where the potential survival of white dolphins is impacted. To date, the Conservation Plan has completed research on white dolphin population monitoring, underwater activity monitoring, land-based observation surveys, population differentiation and scarring analysis, as well as a database of 68 Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins. Furthermore, the Marine Animal Rescue Network and the Marine Conservation Wildlife Utilization Management System have been completed, and a natural history collection of 60 cetaceans has been completed.
To protect the habitat of Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins (Sousa chinensis), also known as Chinese White Dolphins, in addition to conducting bait releases of white dolphins, 2,061 tons of marine debris were removed, 3,852 educational and promotional activities were conducted, and 107 cases of development on important habitat for Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins were supervised. This implemented the review of important habitat development cases to protect the habitat of Indo-pacific Humpback dolphins. At the same time, the Conservation Plan also promotes the cetacean observer mechanism, establishes a working communication platform, strengthens on-site inspections in conjunction with the EPA, and promotes fishermen's participation in the Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphin Protection Patrol Fleet to carry out white dolphin sighting reports and marine conservation education work, forming a positive community participation model.
The OCA said that the conservation of white dolphins cannot rely on a single agency, but rather on close interdepartmental cooperation of the government, the participation of experts and scholars in various fields, civil society organizations and public support, so as to achieve concrete results. Therefore, the OCA is grateful for the joint efforts of all contributing agencies and the participation of our fishermen's organization partners. In the future, the OCA will continue to pay attention to the information on Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphins and their population dynamics, and continue to promote Taiwan's Indo-Pacific Humpback dolphin conservation programs, adjusting regular work and implementation strategies in priority restoration areas on a rolling basis.

Responsible Authority and Spokesperson: Wu Long-Jing, OCA Deputy Director-General
Contact number: 07-3383203 or 0919-613-467