Wiwynn's Green Initiative: Championing Marine Conservation in Gongliao with a 'Production, Livelihood, Ecology' Philosophy

Economic Daily News | Reporter: Wu Kang-Wei | Taipei
Wiwynn (6669), a leading server manufacturer under the Wistron Group (3231), driven by its vision of "Unleash the Power of Digitalization, Ignite the Innovation of Sustainability," is dedicated to advancing data center businesses while actively engaging in sustainable environmental and social development. In response to critical global issues such as drastic climate change and the need for corporate energy conservation and carbon reduction, the team joined hands with the New Taipei City Government's Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Management Office, National Taiwan Ocean University (NTOU), and the Gongliao District Fishermen's Association on the 14th. Together, they hosted a " Mountain and Marine Afforestation - Biodiversity Restoration" restocking event at the Gongliao Marine Resources Restoration Park.

Claire Yang, CEO of the Wiwynn Foundation, attended the event, which highlighted several key initiatives. These include developing coral bases using recycled materials and 3D printing technology, and launching a pilot program for sea urchin aquaculture in partnership with NTOU. This program aims to help aquaculture operators diversify their business, reduce the harvesting of wild purple sea urchins, and create a sustainable marine ecosystem by integrating the core principles of "Production, Livelihood, and Ecology."

New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Chu Ti-Chih(朱惕之) stated that to maintain marine ecology and habitat health, the city government cooperates with fishermen's associations annually to clear derelict fishing nets, promotes a real-name system for the gillnet fishery, and assists gillnet fishing boats in transitioning, thereby implementing responsible fishing. The city has designated four aquatic animal and plant breeding conservation areas in Wanli, Yeliu, Ruifang, and Gongliao, and has established the nation's first aquaculture fishery demonstration area in Mao'ao Bay, allowing marine resources to regenerate endlessly for sustainable fishery development. The New Taipei City Government, based at the Marine Resources Restoration Park and combining the industry-academia forces of NTOU and the Taiwan Shan-Hai-Angel Association (臺灣山海天使協會), is promoting the "Foresting the Mountains and Seas" project. This includes planting 500 coral colonies in the Mao'ao Bay sea area annually and actively cultivating high-quality fry to enrich marine resources. In 2025, releases will continue with 100,000 abalone, 10,000 purple sea urchin larvae, 5,000 cuttlefish fry, and over 20,000 saltwater fish fry, including nibblers, black porgy, gilthead seabream, and brown-striped snapper.

Additionally, considering that the abalone harvest season is limited to the period before the Lunar New Year, a pilot program for sea urchin aquaculture has been promoted to foster industrial diversification. The program guides aquaculture households to utilize their ponds for the polyculture of high-economic-value purple sea urchins, which are harvested in the summer. This not only enhances the income of aquaculture households but also reduces the harvesting amount of wild purple sea urchins. To strengthen the promotion of marine education, in addition to continuing to offer guided tours of the restoration park, coral planting experience courses such as the "Coral Workshop" in July and the "Ho-Mei Sea Home" in August were launched, as well as "Marine Sustainability Course Lectures." These activities allow the public to jointly participate in marine restoration work, thereby raising public awareness of marine ecology.

Dr. Fan-Hua Nan, Vice President of National Taiwan Ocean University, stated that NTOU has a long-term partnership with New Taipei City in marine resource restoration. With local partners, they annually restore and release cuttlefish, Gongliao abalone, and various other aquatic fry, continuously enriching marine resources. This year, in a first-time collaboration with the city government, they are promoting the polyculture of purple sea urchins in abalone ponds. Juvenile purple sea urchins, co-cultivated with the city's restoration park, will be provided to three aquaculture households recommended by the Gongliao production and marketing group, with each household receiving 2,000 sea urchin larvae. NTOU will track the aquaculture performance and provide guidance to the farmers, with the expectation that local farmers can harvest Gongliao abalone in the winter and also harvest sea urchins in the summer, while simultaneously reducing the capture of wild purple sea urchins. Furthermore, this year they are taking a step further by releasing local species such as black sea bream, gilthead seabream, and brown-striped snapper to deepen marine biodiversity and promote the sustainable management of fishery resources.

Claire Yang, CEO of the Wiwynn Foundation, expressed, "Wiwynn has long been concerned with marine conservation issues and, with 'Ocean Hugs' as its main theme, has successively engaged in actions such as coastal afforestation and coral restoration. Since the establishment of the Wiwynn Foundation, we hope to more proactively promote the sustainable development of marine ecosystems, leverage our corporate power, and make our contribution to marine conservation and environmental sustainability. We are especially grateful for the invitation from the New Taipei City Government this year, which has given us the opportunity to participate in this marine restoration action. In the future, the Wiwynn Foundation will continue to work with the New Taipei City Government and Professor Shinya Shikina of National Taiwan Ocean University on coral restoration work. This project will also versatile recycled materials developed by the Metal Industries Research & Development Centre (MIRDC), combined with 3D printing technology, to produce artificial reef bases. This will provide a safe and stable 'new home' for corals, creating a more friendly environment suitable for marine life to inhabit."

"Simultaneously," she added, "the Foundation will actively connect resources from industry, government, and academia to jointly promote coral restoration and marine education. We hope that by restoring coral habitats, we can not only attract more marine life but also enhance the effectiveness of marine afforestation, moving towards the goal of achieving sustainable marine resources. We aim to do our part for conservation and education, and to ensure that the next generation can also have a clean, beautiful, and vibrant ocean."

The New Taipei City Fisheries and Fishing Port Affairs Management Office stated that the New Taipei City Marine Resources Restoration Park is an important base for promoting marine sustainability. In recent years, the "Foresting the Mountains and Seas" coral restoration project has also received subsidies from the Ocean Conservation Administration (OCA), Ocean Affairs Council. In addition to promoting the restoration and release of local marine life, the restoration park also offers guided tours by appointment. Vistors interested in learning about marine life are welcome to visit the park to understand New Taipei City's marine resource conservation achievements and marine biodiversity through expert explanations, and to work together for the sustainability of marine resources.

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