A partnership forged last year between Whakatāne High School and Taiwan’s National Marine and Fisheries Vocational High School in Penghu has come to life, with students and teachers from both schools now completing reciprocal visits.

“Last month, there were 11 of us who went over to Penghu to visit the marine high school, and now they are back visiting us,” said Whakatāne High School’s head of science, Ms Lena Cassidy-Clark.

The exchange follows a memorandum of understanding signed in August last year, a natural partnership between Whakatāne High School’s long-running marine studies programme and the Penghu school’s marine- and fisheries-focused curriculum.

Penghu is home to a significant marine reserve, while Whakatāne High School offers students extensive marine field experiences, including trips to Heron Island on the Great Barrier Reef, Fiji, and locations around New Zealand.

Ms Cassidy-Clark said the purpose of the visit was to strengthen the relationship and explore future options.

“The aim is for them to see what we do for marine studies here and, in the future, to set up something between us, whether it is an exchange or a visit.”

There were plenty of memorable moments for the Whakatāne group’s trip to Penghu, which included four students and seven teachers.

“They have a very relaxed culture but it is very different to here, and our kids really loved it,” she said. “When we were in Penghu, we snorkelled twice. It has been overfished, and surprisingly, the people there don’t swim at the beach even though it’s so hot – 38 degrees while we were there.”

Penghu’s economy revolves around fishing, and its vocational high school is designed to support that industry.

“Students learn electrical work for boats, plumbing, and how to make and repair fishing nets,” she said.

A visit to the fish market left an impression, where they were incredulous at the amount and species of fish for sale – species you would see on the Great Barrier Reef that would be protected in Australia, Ms Cassidy-Clark said.

The Taiwanese visitors are now seeing a different approach in New Zealand and are learning about the focus here on ecology and conservation.

“Their school has invested heavily in aquaculture to sustain the fishing industry, but they don’t get into their oceans or snorkel, so they don’t see what has happened to their marine environment.”

The visiting group of four students and four teachers arrived on November 19. This week they joined the school’s international students for a four-night marine studies trip to Goat Island before heading to Queenstown, Lake Tekapo, and Christchurch.

Teacher Lena Hung interpreted comments from Penghu principal Chia Ho (Kelvin) Yen, who praised the visit.  

“It is a beautiful place with friendly people. We recognise that the students at Whakatāne High School are independent and have their own voice,” Mr Yen said.

He noted that although teaching styles differ between the countries, student curiosity is universal.

“Our main hope is for our students to learn everything they can about marine studies. Penghu is a fishing island and there is overfishing, and we want to change this through education. Whakatāne has twenty years of marine studies experience, so our students can absorb what they see here and bring it back to Penghu,” Mr Yen said.

Mr Yen said exchanges like this also broadened horizons.

“Penghu students may not have the confidence to go see the rest of the world. With this opportunity, we hope they can experience different lifestyles and bring that knowledge home. We also hope people from New Zealand get to know more about Taiwan.”