Divers found long stretches of fishing net lying across the coral reef at Shitiping in Hualien, and almost no fish left — bad news for the reef and for the local dive and tourism trade.

• Net runs for hundreds of metres, pressed right onto the coral rocks like a wall.
• Anything that swims past — fish, shrimp, even sea turtles — can get tangled in it.
• The spot sits just outside the protected zone, so the netting is legal there as long as the boat is licensed for gill nets.
• Local fishermen say the nets are set to catch lobster, and new ones may be dropped before they are registered under Hualien's name-tagging rules.
• The county says 48 gill-net boats work out of Shitiping port, all tagged, and two illegal fishing cases have been penalised this year.

Outlook: Local patrol divers are being sent down to check the seabed, and anyone caught breaking the rules faces fines under fishery law — but the gap outside the protected zone stays open.