Tourist Apprehended for Disturbing Liuqui Sea Turtle|小琉球連假亂象 遊客下水觸摸騷擾海龜

Over 13,000 people took the ferry to Liuqui Island during the first day of the National Day long weekend. The flood of people onto the island created a certain amount of chaos. Some residents discovered that a tourist was disturbing sea turtles. They took photos and posted them online. The Coast Guard Administration saw the post, hurried to the scene, and caught the offending foreign tourist.


Coast Guard Administration personnel arrive at Beauty Cave on Liuqui Island and begin questioning a foreign tourist resting on the beach. They decide to take him in.

I'm the mother, so we come with you, okay?

This incident took place around 3 p.m. on Oct. 10. One hour earlier, a 17-year-old tourist traveling in a group was spotted by locals diving into the water and touching a sea turtle. They posted about what they saw online, and the Coast Guard then hurried to the scene and was able to catch the offender.

We saw a post by local residents on social media about a diver disturbing sea turtles in the waters in front of Beauty Cave on Liuqiu Island. We immediately launched an investigation. At 3:05 p.m., we identified the man who had disturbed the sea turtles at Beauty Cave. His behavior violated the Wildlife Conservation Act.

The man was transferred to Pingtung District Court for violating the Wildlife Conservation Act. The maximum punishment is a one-year sentence with a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000. The Coast Guard was able to act so quickly this time because it had stepped up its patrols around Liuqiu Island to maintain order after 13,000 people crowded onto the island during the first day of the National Day long weekend.

Good management should start with guesthouses, or perhaps to somewhat control the minority that can't be controlled. If guesthouses do not manage things well, it will be hard to control tourists.

The island was flooded with visitors during the long weekend, and both popular scenic spots and places off the beaten path were crowded. Residents even saw scooters parked everywhere along isolated stretches of coastline, and worried that the visitors would create chaos and destroy the local ecology. They hope the government will teach guesthouse operators how to educate tourists.



海巡人員快跑到小琉球美人洞沙灘，盤問一旁正在休息的外籍遊客，並且決定要將他們帶走。

「我是他的媽媽，所以我們跟你們走，好嗎？」

當時是10日下午3點多，1個小時前，這群遊客中的一名17歲青少年，被當地民眾拍到下水摸海龜，海巡看見網路貼文趕到現場，果真逮到人。

海巡署第五岸巡隊參謀主任 邱坤成表示：「發現民眾於網路社群發布一則，小琉球美人洞前，有潛水客騷擾海龜情事，隨即展開調查，並於下午三點五分時，於美人洞沙灘發現騷擾海龜之男子，本案騷擾海龜之行為，已違反野生動物保育法。」

一行人因違反野生動物保護法，被帶離小琉球，移送屏東地方法院偵辦，最高可處一年以下有期徒刑，或併科6萬以上30萬以下罰金。而海巡這次查案神速，就是因為四天連假，小琉球第一天已湧入超過1萬3千人，必須加強巡查，預防亂象。

前小琉球生態聯盟執行長 曾毓文表示：「從民宿端好好地做管理，或許還稍微可以控制，不能控制的少數，但是民宿端沒有做管理的話，要掌控遊客其實不容易。」

景點擠滿人潮，連少有人知的祕境，也湧入遊客，當地民眾看到偏僻海邊卻停滿整排機車，很擔心遊客四處亂踩，破壞生態，希望政府未來儘快做好民宿業者教育，才能有人勸導遊客。