Fish farmers struggling to stay afloat

The culture of groupers, also known as rock fish, in seawater aquaculture ponds in the southernmost county of Pingtung, particularly in its Linbian and Jiadong townships, had been a leading cash cow in Taiwan's aquaculture industry, with exports topping US$40 million in 2008, a figure that has jumped 48-fold in the last three years.

The fishery, however, was nearly drowned by a mass inundation triggered by Typhoon Morakot, with 90 percent of the grouper farms washed away or choked by silt even if the fish themselves were not washed away.

“Only about 10 percent of the original grouper farms remain,” said Chen Chung-min, chief secretary of the Linbian Farmers Association.

It takes at least two years for fish farmers to have their aquaculture stocks replenished and export delivery resumed, Chen said.

Besides the time factor, he went on, the fish farmers need to raise money to survive.

As grouper culture is a “high risk, high investment return” business, the farmers need to raise at least NT$15 million (US$454,545) to start a pond, he said.

“Some farmers have lost over NT$50 million because of Typhoon Morakot,” he noted.

In the wake of the typhoon, some managed to raise enough money to resume grouper culture, some shifted their operations to cheaper fish such as tilapia, and many were forced out of the market altogether after failing to secure loans from banks, according to Chen.

Live grouper exports are a top money earner, and Pingtung, Kaohsiung and Taitung counties are ideal locations because of their tropical climate, said Hu Hsing-hua, vice chairman of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture.

In recent years, traders have marketed high-priced Taiwanese grouper to Hong Kong, where they are highly prized.

The fish are also sought after by expensive restaurants in China's Shanghai and Guangzhou, Hu said.

Nevertheless, he went on, declining yields in the wake of the typhoon have caused exports to shrink abruptly, which has created a business niche for competitors in China and Malaysia.

“The only way to prevent these competitors from stealing Taiwan's export markets is to resume production quickly,” Hu noted.

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