Turtle Island Whale Trip launched at Wushih Harbor

Over 100 foreign guests from Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Hong Kong, Germany and the United States participated in an opening ceremony hosted by Northeast Coast National Scenic Area Administration Director Chen Mei-Kang.

The trip will end on May 16. During the 27-day activity, leisure farms, restaurants, guide services, public transportation systems and boats near Wushih Harbor have prepared to offer services to visitors including accommodation, food and transportation.

Shallow and flat, the sea area around Turtle Island is a perfect whale-watching site. Whale-watching season occurs every year between April and September.

Chen said Turtle Island's rich ecological resources and the appearance of whales and dolphins around the island have attracted many local and foreign visitors every year. "We hope to bring more foreign tourists here this year through promotion of the NCNSA," he said.

Tour packages are mapped out for visitors as a reference. Visitors are recommended to take an educational ocean tour that combines whale-watching with a boat tour to Turtle Island. The boat to Turtle Island can be taken from Wushih Harbor.

Special prices are now being offered to visitors who come to Turtle Island to see whales and dolphins during the promotion period. Seeing whales and dolphins and circling Turtle Island costs NT$700, instead of the usual NT$1,200, per period during weekdays, while the cost for the above, as well as landing on the island is NT$1,100 instead of NT$1,600 per person during weekends, Chen disclosed.

There are eight different species of whales and dolphins that have been spotted around Turtle Island. They are the Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphin, Bottlenose Dolphin, False Killer Whale, Long-Snouted Common Dolphin, Pantropical Spotted Dolphin, Dwaft Sperm Whale, and Risso's Dolphin and Sperm Whale, with the Long-Snouted Spinner Dolphin accounting for the majority.

Turtle Island gets its name from its resemblance to a sea turtle when viewed from a certain angle. It is a volcanic islet about 10 kilometers east of the coast of Toucheng, Yilan County.

Traces of volcanic activity, such as underwater hot springs, are still evident today on the island. Most of the island has been preserved in its pristine original state, untouched by man. The island has been designed as an oceanic ecology park.

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