This year, the coral reefs in the waters surrounding Taiwan have weathered a summer of challenges without major incidents.

Since March last year, global sea temperatures have been influenced by both ocean warming and the El Niño phenomenon, reaching new record highs every day. As of July this year, the record-breaking days have lasted a total of 478 days. The area of coral bleaching in Australia's Great Barrier Reef has exceeded 70% in the most severely affected regions, marking the fifth comprehensive bleaching event in the past eight years according to the scientific community. While the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recognized that countries around the world were experiencing the fourth global bleaching event in 2023-2024, with around 54 countries and regions documenting coral bleaching situation.

The coral reefs in the waters surrounding Taiwan have started to bleach gradually in June and July. The heat stress index recorded by NOAA for the coral reefs has reached a historic high in both the northern and southern waters. Fortunately, several typhoons have occurred in the following weeks, causing the sea temperature, which was originally as high as 33-34 degrees Celsius, to decrease by 10 degrees Celsius through ocean currents. This has provided the coral reefs with some time to recover after bleaching. Therefore, even though the heat stress continues to increase according to the NOAA report, many of the corals that bleached in June have gradually recovered by September and continue to serve as important habitats for marine organisms.

The " Delta's Coral  Restoration Scheme" has continued to make progress this summer. This includes dispatching a filming team to Great Barrier Reef in Australia to document the coral bleaching situation in 2024, alongside researchers from the National Museum of Marine Science and Technology. Additionally, two Delta's coral restoration volunteers with diving instructor certifications were selected to travel to Key West, the southernmost point of Florida in the United States, to learn about coral bleaching rescue mechanisms and the latest coral monitoring technology that combines 3D photography with artificial intelligence, under the guidance of researchers from the Mote Marine Laboratory & Aquarium.
Delta volunteers participated in Mote 3D coral monitoring training underwater.

In addition to continuing collaborating with domestic experts and scholars to research and restore heat-resistant corals, learn international rescue and monitoring techniques, and to transform complex coral knowledge into content that even elementary school students can understand, and to raise more public awareness of coral issues. In August, the Delta Electronics Foundation also commissioned Thinkingdom Media Group Ltd.'s publishing house to release the picture book "Saving Our Coral Reefs" for parent-child reading. The illustrations were led by illustrator Hsueh Hui-Yin, who was selected for the Bologna Illustrators Exhibition in Italy. The visual director who has designed the Golden Bell Awards, Golden Melody Awards, and Golden Horse Awards stages, was invited to design the cover. The book presents the basic knowledge of coral restoration through dialogues with domestic and foreign experts and scholars.The publishing house also continues to arrange picture book sharing sessions in bookstores on weekends in September and October, allowing readers to learn more about coral-related knowledge and join the ranks of coral restoration projects together!
The press conference for the picture book ”Saving Our Coral Reefs” successfully concluded, and the VIPs took a group photo with the audience.

The Foundation has also released a short film titled " Hear Out what Coral Reef Would Like to Say" in conjunction with the publication of the picture book. The film uses personification of coral to spread awareness about coral conservation. In addition, the newly established Delta Marine Volunteer Team at the Chaojing Coral Conservation Center has developed various educational materials to promote biodiversity. During the summer vacation, the Foundation organized a parent-child activity on coral restoration for Delta employees at the Chaojing Coral Conservation Center. A total of 40 families and 160 participants attended the event, with Delta volunteers serving as instructors. The instructors introduced the equipments at the conservation center, the importance of coral reef ecosystems and restoration, and concluded the activity with actual underwater footage to showcase Delta's achievements in coral restoration and its commitment to long-term efforts.
Delta employees and their families participated in the coral restoration experience program at the Chaojing Coral Conservation Center.

If you are interested in coral restoration videos, you can search for " Hear Out what Coral Reef Would Like to Say" on YouTube. You can also purchase " Saving Our Coral Reefs " from major online bookstores to support the coral restoration efforts of the Delta Electronics Foundation.