Liuqiu Residents Complain of Piled Up Equipment on Beaches 業者獨木舟等遊具占沙灘 小琉球居民抱怨
Pingtung's Liuqiu has seen a large influx of tourists during summer vacation. Some tour operators piled canoes, SUPs and other recreational equipment on the beach, attracting complaints from local residents.
The beach was full of canoes and SUPs early in the morning. Tourists have flooded Pingtung's Liuqiu Island during the summer vacation. Residents have complained that they have to compete with tourists to play in the water and even buy breakfast, but now, even tourists can't stand it.
Tourist: “We went to the Houshi Fringing Reef to enjoy the water there. But why are there all these SUPs and canoes? And then we went to Dafu and it was the same thing.”
The beach and ocean are filled with too much recreational equipment, which makes tourists worry about children's safety. Beaches such as Houshi, Dafuhsi, and Chungau are difficult to manage because the Fishing Port Act does not apply. Despite the constant persuasion from the Marine and Fisheries Management Office and other government entities, some operators still pile recreational gear on the beach, which has intensified the contradictions between residents, ecology, and tourism development.
Tsai Chun-chi, Chairperson, Taiwan Loo-Koo Yu Assoc.: “It's not that tourism development is bad. Instead, we can ask does Liuqiu still need so many tourists? Or does the island need so many operators? Or does it need more beds and breakfasts? I think everyone should start thinking about this.”
The number of tourists during summer vacation highlights the problem of Liuqiu being overloaded with tourists during the peak season. The Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration and other units will hold a meeting to discuss measures to help lessen resident complaints.
Su Ruei-fang, Dir., Liuqiu Station, Dapeng Bay National Scenic Area Administration: “How to manage these open spaces involve linking relevant authorities together? There are also some legal issues we need to discuss. After some consultation and coordination between agencies, we will communicate with the tour operators.”
Environmental groups believe that although Liuqiu continues to develop tourism, it has not made more regulations to govern it. The government needs to formulate management measures, such as visitor quotas, as soon as possible so that residents or the local ecology will not have to compete with tourist operators for living space during the peak travel season.
一早來到海邊，就看到沙灘堆著滿滿的獨木舟跟SUP。屏東小琉球暑假湧入大量遊客，居民之前就曾抱怨，玩水、甚至買早餐，都得跟遊客搶，但現在是連遊客都看不下去。
目擊遊客說：「去厚石群礁這裡玩，但是怎麼這裡都是人家在玩SUP、獨木舟，我們又跑到大福這邊玩，結果也是一樣。」
沙灘及海上充斥過多遊具，讓遊客擔心小孩安危，厚石、大福西及中澳等沙灘，因為不適用漁港法、難以管理，儘管海漁所等單位不斷勸導，部分業者照樣把遊具堆在沙灘，讓居民、生態及觀光發展的矛盾日益加劇。
台灣咾咕嶼協會理事長蔡俊吉表示：「並不是說發展觀光不好，可以反思，小琉球還需要這麼多的遊客嗎？或者是還需要這麼多的業者或是民宿進駐嗎？我覺得大家可能要開始思考這樣的問題。」
暑假國旅潮凸顯出小琉球旺季遊客過載的問題，為降低居民反彈，鵬管處等單位近期將開會研議管理辦法。
大鵬灣管理處琉球管理站主任蘇瑞芳表示：「這些開放空間要如何去怎麼做管理，涉及到相關機關之間的聯繫，還有一些法規問題，我們要研擬機關間的協商機制後，再跟這些業者來溝通協調。」
環團認為小琉球不斷發展觀光，卻沒有做更多規範，政府需盡快訂出像：總量管制等管理辦法，別讓居民或當地生態一到旺季，就得跟遊客業者爭奪生存空間。
