Dongsha Atoll National Park


The Dongsha Atoll National Park is the seventh national park of the Republic of China.
The marine park is located at the Pratas Islands in the north of the South China Sea, and includes the Dongsha Atoll, a circular atoll in diameter with a tropical monsoon climate, and the surrounding seas. The total area is, with of land.
The Park is managed by the Ministry of the Interior. It was established on 17 January 2007; and on 4 October of the same year an administrative office was set up in Kaohsiung City.

Oceanology

Ecology

Beds are well formed in the atoll and in adjacent waters, providing rich bio-diversities of marine life from fish, jelly fish, squid, sicklefin lemon sharks, and rays to rarer sea turtles, Dugongs, and cetaceans. Recovery of green sea turtles has especially been noted. Possible use of the atoll as a breeding ground by lemon sharks have been speculated due to the numbers of infants that have been discovered.