Taiwan Aqua

7/31/2019 Taiwan Aqua

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THE STATUS AND PROSPECTS OF

COASTAL AQUACULTURE IN TAIWAN

Mao-Sen Su and Wei-Cheng Su

Fisheries Research Institute, Council of Agriculture (COA)

199, Hou-Ih Road, Keelung, Taiwan ROC

ABSTRACT

Aquaculture is well practiced in coastal zones in Taiwan. The major species cultured include groupers,

milk sh, tilapias, sea bass, sea breams, mullet, cobia, pompano, white shrimp, hard clam, oyster and small

abalone. In 2006, the production of coastal aquaculture reached 155,776 mt, valued at NT$11,817 million.

To enhance the competitiveness of the industry, a series of programs toward sustainable aquaculture have

been implemented. However, diseases, water pollution, cold current, and storm ood are still threatening

the industry. The coastal zone of Taiwan has long been affected by human activities such as urbanization,

industrial development, sheries, aquaculture, recreation and tourism. The deterioration of coastal

environment has exacerbated the difculty of aquaculture. An integrated management of coastal zones for

sustainable aquaculture is greatly needed. This paper discusses the culture of several economically important

species in the coastal zones and the problems and prospects for development of those species. It also presents

examples of recent research and development activities toward sustainable aquaculture, and proposes future

directions and recommendations.

Key words: sustainable aquaculture, integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), Taiwan

INTRODUCTION

Taiwan is located on the western edge of the Pacic

Ocean. Separated from mainland China by the

Taiwan Strait, Taiwan is bordered by the South

China Sea in the south, the East China Sea in the

north, and the Pacic Ocean in the east. Located

in the Tropic of Cancer, Taiwan has a subtropical

climate except its southern part, which is tropical.

Average temperature on the lowlands range from

16C to 18C in January to (27-29)C in July. Sea

surface temperatures of coastal waters vary from

20C to 22C in winter (December to February)to (28-30)C in summer (June to August) (Fig. 1).

The natural environmental conditions in Taiwan are

suitable for the development of aquaculture.

Coastal aquaculture in Taiwan can be traced

back to the milk sh culture 400 years ago (Ling

1977). After continuous development, a standard

year-long operation system for the shallow

brackish-water pond culture has been developed.

Traditionally, milk sh culture has played an

important role in the socioeconomic development

of coastal communities in the southwestern part of

Taiwan. With the success of articial propagation

of grass prawn in 1968 (Liao et al. 1969), prawn

farming emerged as a fast growing industry in the

coastal zones. The resulting high prawn production

placed Taiwan on the map in the 1980s as one

of the leading prawn producing countries in the

world (Fast et al. 1989). However, the disease

outbreaks caused the collapse of the industry in

1988 (Liao 1989). Currently, groupers, milk sh,

white shrimp, hard clam, black sea breams and sea

bass are the major species reared in the brackish-

water ponds. As to mariculture, oyster farming

signicantly contributes to the livelihood of coastal

communities. Recently, marine cage aquaculture isgetting popular in Taiwan, and cobia is regarded as

the best species for commercial marine cage culture

(Su et al. 2000).

Coastal zones are intensively used for

transportation, shing, aquaculture, recreation,

waste disposal, power generation, water supply,

forestry, residential and industrial purposes.

Furthermore, coastal zones are buffer zones against

the ravages of rough waves, ooding, and erosion.

Coastal zones must be managed in an integrated

manner to ensure harmonious and sustainable

development for all sectors in the coastal zones. This


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paper discusses the status of coastal aquaculture

in Taiwan, related problems and solutions, and

recent research and development activities toward

sustainable coastal aquaculture.

PRODUCTION OF CAPTURE FISHERIESAND AQUACULTURE

The shery industry in Taiwan can be categorized

into far sea shery, offshore shery, coastal shery,

and aquaculture. Far sea shery refers to those

shing activities performed beyond the 200-mile

exclusive economic zone of Taiwan. Offshore

shery refers to those shing activities conducted

within the exclusive economic zone extending from

12 to 200 miles from the baseline. Those operated

within the 12-mile territorial sea of Taiwan arereferred to as coastal shery. Aquaculture includes

freshwater culture, brackish-water culture and

mariculture. Combined, brackish-water culture

and mariculture are called coastal aquaculture.

The production analyses in this paper are based on

the statistical data released by the Fishery Agency

(2008).

Annual shery production in terms of quantity

and value by types of shery from 1987 to 2006

varied (Fig. 2). During this period, total shery

production appeared uctuating from 1.2 million

to 1.5 million mt valued at NT$83 billion to 100

billion. Coastal aquaculture production was 100-

150 thousand mt valued at NT$10-18 billion. In

2006, total shery production was 1,266,026 mt

valued at NT$85,369,935,000. Of this gure, far

sea shery, offshore and coastal shery, coastalaquaculture, and inland freshwater aquaculture

contributed 59%, 17%, 11% and 13% to the total

production, respectively (Fig. 3). This is valued at

49%, 18%, 13% and 20%, respectively (Fig. 4).

MAJOR CULTURED SPECIES

The major cultured species, which accounted for

over 90% of total aquaculture production, were

tilapia (hybrids ofTilapia spp.), milk sh (Chanos

chanos), hard clam (Meretrix lusoria), Japanese

eel (Anguilla japonica), oyster (Crassostreagigas), freshwater clam (Corbicula uminea),

groupers (Epinephelus malabaricus, E. coioides,

E. lanceolatus andE. fuscoguttatus), white shrimp

(Litopenaeus vannamei), giant freshwater prawn

(Macrobrachium rosenbergii), gracilar (Gracilaria

spp.), sea bass (Lates calcarifer, Lateolbrax

japonicus, Bidyanus bidyanus, Micropterus

salmoides, etc.), sea breams (Pagrus major and

Acanthopagrus schlegeli ) and cobia (Rachycentron

canadum) (Fig. 5). Combined production of

tilapia, milk sh and hard clam was 53.57% of total

aquaculture production.

Fig. 1. Map showing seasonal mean sea surface temperatures

and currents in the waters surrounding Taiwan.

Sources: FRI, NCOR


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0

200,000

400,000

600,000

800,000

1,000,000

1,200,000

1,400,000

1,600,000

1987

1988

1989

1990

1991

1992

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Quantity(mt)

0

20,000,000

40,000,000

60,000,000

80,000,000

100,000,000

120,000,000

Value(NT$thousand)

Total Quantity (Q) Far sea fisheries(Q) Offshore and coastal fisheries(Q)

Coastal aquaculture(Q) Inland freshwater aquaculture(Q) Total Value (V)

Far sea fisheries (V) Offshore and coastal fisheries (V) Coastal aquaculture (V)

Inland freshwater aquaculture (V)

Fig. 2. Annual capture sheries and aquaculture production in Taiwan from 1987

to 2006.

209,25417%

1550%

138,21511% 160,50513% 757,896

59%

Far sea fisheries Offshore and coastal fisheriesInland fisheries Coastal aquacultureInland freshwater aquaculture

Fig. 3. Fisheries and aquaculture production (mt) of Taiwan

in 2006.

15,784,05218%

7,7090%

11,307,47213%

16,851,49920% 41,419,20249%

Far sea fisheries Offshore and coastal fisheries

Inland fisheries Coastal culture

Inland freshwater culture

Fig. 4. Fisheries and aquaculture production value (thousand

NT$) of Taiwan in 2006.


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Fig. 5. Major cultured species accounted for over 90% of total aquaculture productionby quantity in Taiwan on the average of 2002-2006.

Fig. 6. Major cultured species/groups accounted for over 90% of total aquaculture

production by value in Taiwan on the average of 2002-2006.

Cumulatedpercentage


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On the other hand, the major culture species,

which was over 90% of total aquaculture production

value, were Japanese eel, giant freshwater prawn,

oyster, tilapias, milk sh, groupers, white shrimp,

hard clam, sea breams, cobia, small abalone(Haliotis diversicolor), freshwater clam, soft-

shelled turtle (Trionyx sinensis) and sea bass (Fig.

6). Production value of combined Japanese eel,

giant freshwater prawn, oyster and tilapias was

54.3% of the total aquaculture production.

Fig. 7 presents annual average farm-gate prices

for selected species from 1993 to 2006. The price

of small abalone was higher than other species at

NT$380-650/kg. Prices of Japanese eel, red sea

bream and giant freshwater prawn were NT$200-

400/kg. Price range of groupers, white shrimp,

cobia and black sea bream was NT$150-200/kg.Milk sh, tilapias and hard clam had the lowest

price of NT$30-60/kg.

BRACKISH-WATER CULTURE

Milk sh

Milk sh is an important cultured species in

the southwestern part of Taiwan. For a long

time, unstable supply of fry had hindered the

development of milk sh culture. Since the success

of articial propagation of this species in Taiwan in

1984 (Lin 1985), the fry production has increased

signicantly. The hatchery fry not only provided

milk sh farmers of Taiwan with ample supply,

but also were exported to several Southeast Asian

countries.Two systems are used to culture milk sh in

Taiwan: shallow-water culture and deep-water

culture. Shallow-water culture is the traditional

culture system, which usually uses brackish-water

ponds. The management of the system involves

pond preparation, stocking fry or ngerling,

pond management, selective harvesting and over-

wintering. The deep-water system, which uses

freshwater ponds, was developed in the mid 1970s.

The procedures for the deep-water method are pond

preparation, fry stocking, harvesting and over-

wintering. As with shallow-water systems, milk shweighing 500 g or more are thinned out selectively

with gill nets. Harvesting begins in August and

thereafter depending on the sh growth. Final

harvest takes place in November before winter. The

deep-water milk sh culture yields 8,000 kg /ha to

as high as 120,000 kg/ha per year.

Fig. 8 shows the annual production of milk

sh in Taiwan from 1993 to 2006. Total production

uctuated from 36,000 to 78,000 mt valued at

NT$1.9 million to 3.6 million. Peak production

quantity occurred around 2002-2004. However,

peak production value occurred around 1995-1996.

Fig. 7. Annual average prices of major cultured species in Taiwan from 1993-

2006.


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The production from freshwater ponds was larger

than that of brackish-water ponds.

The major areas for development of this species

are: (1) development of innovative strategies for

shallow brackish-water pond culture to reduce sh

loss in winter; (2) development of technologies

for fattening sh to upgrade sh EPA and DHA

levels to increase its commercial value; and (3)

improvement of feed formulation and processingusing more gradients from algae to decrease culture

cost and improve sh quality.

Groupers

Grouper culture in Taiwan began in the early 1970s

and the grow-out wild-caught fry was from either

Taiwan or Southeast Asian countries. Full-life-

cycle culture ofE. coioides and E. malabaricus

was achieved in the early 1980s. Currently, the

most popular culture species are E. coioides, E.

malabaricus, E. lanceolatus and E. fuscoguttatus.In 2006, 46.8 million fry ofE. coioides and E.

malabaricu, 5.04 million fry ofE. lanceolatus and

4.7 million fry ofE. fuscoguttatus were produced.

The shes were mainly raised in brackish-water

ponds using dry or moist formulated pellet feeds.

Fig. 9 shows the annual production of groupers

in Taiwan from 1993 to 2006. Total production

volume was 1,800-3,400 mt in 1993-1998 and

4,100-5,300 mt in 1999-2001. It greatly increased

to about 12,400 mt in 2002, maintained at 11,500-

13,600 mt in 2003-2005, and then dropped to about

9,300 mt in 2006. Total production value was less

than NT$900 million in 1993-1998 and it increased

to NT$1.081 million to 1.218 million in 1999-

2001. The production value signicantly increased

to about NT$1.897 million in 2002, maintained at

NT$2.272 billion 2,272,000 to NT$2.688 billion in

2003-2005, but dropped to about NT$1.73 billion

in 2006. Production from brackish-water ponds

dominated the whole industry.

The major areas for development of thisspecies are: (1) establishment of SPF broodstocks

to cut transmission of pathogens in groupers; (2)

improvement of larval rearing and nursery systems

to upgrade the production of healthy juveniles for

grow-out; and (3) development of vaccines to curb

viral diseases of groupers.

White shrimp

Specic pathogen free (SPF) breeders of white

shrimp from Hawaii, USA have been imported to

Taiwan since 1996. Since then, white shrimp culturehas become an important business in Taiwan.

To develop technologies for mass production of

SPF white shrimp fry, Tungkang Biotechnology

Research Center (TBRC), Fisheries Research

Institute (FRI), and Council of Agriculture

(COA) have established the PCR techniques for

monitoring viral diseases of shrimp and developed

the hatchery system for mass production of healthy

fry. The production of white shrimp culture in

Taiwan increased from 2,310 mt in 2000 to 10,361

mt in 2006, valued at NT$5.06 million in 2000 to

NT$1.8 million in 2006 (Fig. 10).

Fig. 8. Annual aquaculture production of milksh in Taiwan, 1993-2006.


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The major areas for development of this

species are: (1) development of a biosecure system

for SPF shrimp culture to prevent diseases; (2)

enhancement of genetic studies on white shrimp to

increase its growth and disease resistance; and (3)

development of an appropriate monitoring system

to evaluate ecological impact of white shrimp.

Hard clam

Japan introduced the aquaculture of hard clam to

Taiwan in 1925. Hard clam was extensively ranched

in sandy tidal ats. To control water quality, hard

clam is now mainly cultured in brackish-water

ponds, especially in the west coast. After the mass

articial fry production (Chen and Lyuu 1982),

annual production increased by 88% from 9,200

mt in 1982 to 17,322 mt in 1984 (Chien and Hsu

2006). The annual production was 17,849 - 30,711

mt, valued at NT$ 678 million, to 1.2 million in

1993-2005, and increased signicantly to 49,186

mt valued at NT$ 1.6 billion in 2006 (Fig. 11).

The major ares for development of this species

are: (1) improvement of pond management of

Fig. 9. Annual production of groupers in Taiwan, 1993-2006.

Fig. 10. Annual aquaculture production of white shrimp in Taiwan, 2000-2006.

Freshwater pond production (Q)

Freshwater pond production (V)


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hard clam culture to increase its productivity and

products quality; (2) development of fattening

technologies to increase hard clams quality

and commercial value; and (3) enhancement of

genetic studies of hard clam to increase its growthperformance and disease resistance.

MARICULTUREOyster

Oyster culture is the most traditional shallow sea

farming in the western coast of Taiwan. Oyster

seeds are collected from the wild. Spot collection

is conducted in November to February and July

to August. Methods of oyster culture practiced in

Taiwan include bamboo stick, hanging, suspension,

long-line, and raft methods. Fig. 12 shows annual

Fig. 11. Annual aquaculture production of hard clam in Taiwan, 1993-2006.

production from 1993 to 2006. The production

from 1998 to 2002 was around 20,000 mt, while

that of other years was maintained at higher level of

25,000 mt. Production in 2006 reached 28,547 mt,

valued at NT$3.03 billion.The major areas for development of this

species are: (1) investigation of physical, chemical

and biological conditions of farming grounds;

(2) improvement of spot collection and cultural

management; and (3) establishment of mass

production of articial seed to reduce dependence

on wild spot.

Cobia

Cobia is now popularly cultured in marine cages

in Taiwan. Its fast growth rate, good meat quality,

Fig. 12. Annual aquaculture production of oyster in Taiwan, 1993-2006.


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induce face-lift. The hydroxyapatide can be a

biomaterial for orthopedics and dentistry, and

a nutrient supplement to prevent osteoporosis.

The sh scale, a rarely utilized substance in the

industry, when treated with extraction technology

can produce collagen peptide and hydroxyapatide.

Development of Technologies

for Complete Utilization of Oyster Shell

Oyster shells are often causing environmental

problems in the coastal communities. The extracting

techniques of pearl layer extracts and calcium

oxide from discarded oyster shells have been

established by FRI. Both techniques do not use

any organic or chemical solvent, hence, it is safe

for cosmetic use. Pearl layer extract shows strong

inhibitory activities for tyrosinase. It is also applied

to culture medium for skin melanin cells, which

shows no cytotoxicity and reduces the production

of melanin. Besides, it is effective as antioxidant

materials. The component of oyster shell changes

from CaCO3

to CaO by heating, and in this process,

the heavy metal existing in CaCO3

is driven out.

An advantage of CaO is that it is easily soluble in

hydrochloric acid in gastric juice and would not

have the plenitude.

Establishment of Biosecure

Culture System for SPF Penaeid Shrimps

To promote healthy shrimp aquaculture, the

TBRC has successfully developed technological

platforms for monitoring viral diseases with PCR

techniques for each growing stages to ensure

successful maintenance of SPF shrimp stock. The

establishment of selective breeding programs

through either traditional method or advance

molecular method on penaeid shrimps is to

produce superior strains with high performances in

reproduction and growth, and resistant in diseases

and stress. The effective and economic feasible

Fig. 14. Facilities of the National Aquatic Genetic Research Center at PMBRC,FRI.

Fig. 15. Facilities of the National Aquatic Genetic Research Center at FARC, FRI.


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biosecure system can ensure high survival during

culture period with high density and high yield.

Development of Technological Platform for

Healthy Grouper Fry Production

In recent years, nervous necrosis virus (NNV) and

Taiwan grouper iridovirus (TGIV) have caused

heavy mortality of grouper in larviculture. The

transmission of virus is considered to be both

horizontal and vertical infection. Thus, groupersfrom egg to larvae are all vulnerable to virus

diseases. To produce healthy larvae for culture,

the Mariculture Research Center (MRC), FRI is

carrying out an integrated project aimed to establish

virus-free broodstocks and to produce virus-free

fertilized egg, fry and juveniles.

Development of Technologies for Macroalgae

Forestation

Macroalgae are keys to the prosperity of marine

resources. Forestation of macroalgae at adequate

sites would provide habitats for brooding,

inhabitation, reproduction and feeding to marine

organisms. Meanwhile, macroalgae can also

absorb carbon dioxide to mitigate global warming.

Polysaccharides extracted from them can be

fermented to alcohol for biomass energy and used

for food and other commodities. A pilot project of

macroalgae forestation in Penghu waters is being

conducted by PMBRC.

THE WAY FORWARD

Planning and regulatory frameworks for the

strategic and controlled development of the coastal

zones should be formulated. The development

of coastal aquaculture should be based on the

principles of biodiversity conservation and

sustainable use of natural resources. More scientic

and socioeconomic studies are required to address

the constraints that are currently limiting the

performance of both the brackish-water culture

and mariculture. The needed major actions are

recommended as follows:

Fig. 16. Flow chart of aquatic genetic resources management and conservation at the

Aquatic Genetic Resources Center of Fisheries Research Institute, Council of

Agriculture (COA).

BiotechnologyIndustry

Wild Populations

Seed ProductionAquacultureIndustry

Broodstocks

Completelycultured Population

CulturedPopulations

Aquarium

Industry

Release of Seed

Selective Breeding

Seed Production

Seed Production

CaptureFishery

StockEnhancement

TargetSpecies


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Promote Integrated Coastal Zone Manage-

ment (ICZM) to improve environment for

good aquacultural practices.

Strengthen assessment and communication

of environmental risks in coastal aquaculture

based on GESAMP (2008).

Reduce the use of chemicals and antibiotics.

Strengthen research on culture of herbivorous

species to reduce the use of sh meal.

Strengthen research on vaccine development

for groupers and cobia.

Develop value-added products on hard clam

and milk sh.

Rene laws and regulations related to coastal

aquaculture.

Develop typhoon-proof offshore cage culture

systems to prevent disaster loss. Strengthen research on replanning of coastal

aquaculture lands and designing of innovative

eco-friendly aquacultural farms to prevent or

reduce losses caused by nature disasters.

REFERENCES

Chen, H. C. and R. Y. Lyuu (1982). Studies on the

articial propagation of the hard clam,Meretrix

lusoria. I. Sex distinction. J. Mar. Sci. 27:1-8.

Chien, Y. H. and W. H. Hsu (2006). Effects of

diets, their concentrations and clam size onltration rate of hard clams (available at http://

ndarticles.com).

COA (2008) COA annual report 2006 (available

at http://eng.coa.gov.tw). Fishery Agency

(2008) Taiwan sheries yearbook (available at

http:www.fa.gov.tw)

Fast, A. W., Y. C. Shang, I C. Liao and G. L.Rogers

(1989). Description and economic analysis of

intensive marine shrimp culture in Taiwan and

simulated technology transfer to Hawaii in

1985. University of Hawaii Sea Grant Program,

Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A., 94pp.

GESAMP (IMO/FAO/UNESCO-IOC/UNIDO/

WMO/IAEA/UN/UNEP Joint Group of

Experts on Scientic Aspects of Marine

Environmental Protection) (2008). Assessment

and communication of environmental risks in

coastal aquaculture. Rome, FAO. Reports and

Studies GESAMP No. 76: 198 pp.

Liao, I C. (1989). Penaeus monodon culture

in Taiwan: through two decades of growth.

International Journal of Aquaculture and

Fisheries Technology, 1: 16-24. Fisheries

Research Institute, Keelung, Taiwan, 193-201.

Liao, I C., T. L. Huang and K. Katsutani (1969).

Summary of preliminary report on articial

propagation of Penaeus monodon Fabricius.

Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction

(JCRR) Fisheries Series, 8: 67-71.Lin, L. T. (1985). My experiences in articial

propagation of milksh studies on natural

spawning of pond-reared broodstock. In:

Production and Culture of Milksh (C. S. Lee

and I C. Liao eds.), The Oceanic Institute,

Honolulu, Hawaii and Tungkang Marine

Laboratory , Tungkang, Taiwan, 185-203.

Ling, S.W. (1977). Aquaculture in Southeast Asia:

A historical view. 108pp. Univ. of Washington

Press, Seattle Washington.

Su, M.S., Chien, Y.H., Liao, I.C.(2000). Potential

of marine cage aquaculture in Taiwan: cobiaculture. In: Liao, I.C., Lin, C.K. (Eds.), Cage

Aquaculture in Asia. Asian Fisheries Society,

Manila, and World Aquaculture Society-

Southeast Asian Chapter, Bangkok, 97106.

Shiau, C. Y. (1999). Chemical and nutrient

composition of cultured cobia (Rachycentron

canadum). Project Report of Taiwan Fisheries

Bureau 1999. Taiwan Fisheries Bureau, Taipei,

Taiwan, 24 pp.

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