Leading a Sustainable Fish-based Diet Culture (Industry) in Taiwan: A Brief Discussion on the Xingda Harbor Industrial Cluster

Sara Lu（China Productivity Center Agricultural Innovation Department II ）

Taiwan, as an island nation surrounded by oceans, is blessed with rich aquatic resources. The season capture of aquatic animals from various waters has led to a diverse range of marine fishery operations. However, in recent years, Taiwan has faced issues such as depletion of fish stocks, aging population in the industry, shortage of fishery labor, a gradual decline in fish consumption, and sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the fishery industry. It's necessary to think how to overcome the challenges in the broader fishery environment, adjust the structure of the coastal and offshore fishery industry, and seek operational diversification in order to sustain the fishery culture in Taiwan.

How can a fishing village with a rich history transform itself into a multifunctional tourist destination? Xingda Habor in Kaohsiung is one of the success stories for transformation and development. Located in Qieding at the northern end of Kaohsiung and adjacent to the Lovers Wharf, Xingda Habor is the largest distribution center for aquatic products in northern Kaohsiung. Over past few years and under the government’s redesign and expansion, Xingda Habor has evolved from a traditional fishing village into a development complex for marine leisure. The tourist fish market and recreational piers have created a unique local culture of marine tourism.

Xingda Harbor is also Taiwan's largest production area for mullet roe. Due to the development of coastal fisheries and aquaculture, the fishermen's association's direct sales center and the tourist fish market on Dafa Road nearby have become hubs for fresh seafood. It has transformed into a modern fishing port by combining local characteristics and the tourism and leisure culture and incorporating elements of ecology, industry, technology, leisure, and culture. The surrounding area has been shaped into “Taiwan Marine Industry Cluster Park" with the creation of a unique fish culture for Xingda Harbor. As a result, the aquaculture industry has become a primary industry for the city's economy.

How did Xingda Harbor successfully transform itself into an industrial cluster? This can be explained from the ecological, leisure-cultural, industrial, and technological perspectives. The ecological perspective can be illustrated with the fish-based diet education, a topic most frequently mentioned nowadays. It is a concept extended from ecological and sustainable fishery. Only by embedded the concept of ecology and sustainability into the industry, can the market demand and supply achieve equilibrium. Meanwhile, the sharing of local leisure and cultural experiences gives consumers quick access to aquaculture knowledge and culture so that they become interested in and pay attention to fish consumption.

Products are the most important element of the entire industry chain. Products are also what consumers care most about. The quality of aquatic products relies on comprehensive cold chain and processing equipment. The development of target customers is underpinned by safety certification, product freshness, reliable outputs and distributions. It is with efforts on all fronts that has gradually empowered the industry to create a fish culture unique to Xingda Harbor.

Ecological Sustainability - Eating the Right Fish at the Right Time

The types of aquatic products in abundance differs as seasons change. Fishing for the freshest catch according to seasonality and consumer education on how to select seafood in season ensures the sustainability of marine resources.

Therefore, Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association communicates with channels and consumers about prioritization of local and seasonal choices: black pomfret, fourfinger threadfin, seaweed, squid, and mackerel in spring; giant grouper and eel in summer; neritic squid, fourfinger threadfin, dolphin fish and white shrimp in autumn; and largehead hairtail in winter.

An understanding of seasonal ingredients before shopping ensures a taste of the freshest seafood and extensive knowledge about aquatic products. It also makes the stabilization and balance of the market supply and demand possible.

Cultural Pilgrimage: Jinluan Temple’s Mullet Industry Culture

Xingda Harbor was once Taiwan's largest mullet fishing center. In the early days, many fishing boats gathered here and developed a unique "Mullet Divination" culture. The temple holds this traditional event annually, where Mazu uses the Mullet Divination to predict the mullet fishing season and forecast whether the year's catch will be bountiful. This serves as a reference to mullet fishermen. The devout belief in Mazu can enhance confidence in mullet fishing and is an important spiritual support for local fishermen.

The combination of the local fishing village culture and the local ritual of divining block throwing allows more people to understand the history of the industry and the meaning of traditional fishing festivals. This is a fun and educational way of promoting a sustainable fish-based diet culture.

From Farm to Table - Grouper for Every Class

To promote Taiwan's high-quality grouper and fish-based diet education, Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education, launched the Grouper for Every Class project to supply groupers for lunches at elementary and junior high schools. This encourages students to eat fish and understand the process from production to table. It fosters confidence in the safety of fish as food and helps the industry with local production and local consumption. This also prompts the aquaculture industry to further explore how to bring farmed fish to local tourist hotels or schools to create local characteristics.

Smart Technology – Upgrading of Processing Plants

Under the support of the Fisheries Agency, Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association planned in 2020 to establish a processing plant and obtained the HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) certification. As processing equipment gradually improves, local fish catches can immediately enter the processing plant after landing. The cold chain maintains low temperatures throughout the process to keep the fish fresh, in compliance with safety certification procedures such as “three removals and three cleanings” (removal of fish scales, gills and insides), cutting, freezing, and packaging.

The deployment of oblique cutting machines and the design of skin packaging effectively improves the efficiency of processing and production, as well as stabilize and expand domestic sales channels.

Additionally, to respond to market trends and to meet the demand for dietary convenience and nutrition, there are efforts to develop products by utilizing the entire fish. This includes grouper bone powder, grouper scale powder, sea bass bone powder, and sea bass scale powder. The purpose is to reduce and avoid waste of remaining parts and to achieve a circular economy by creating a variety of aquatic products.

Fishery Products Marketing – Stabilization of Domestic Sales and Expansion of Export Channels

To increase product visibility to domestic consumers, Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association is proactively developing sales channels by working with large retailers such as Carrefour, Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation (TAMPC Store), Go Fish, Taipei Hope Plaza Farmer Market, etc. In addition to establishing presence in major channels, Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association organized an open-air market “Xingda Fresh Seafood” as a grouper marketing campaign in 2023, in order to bring producers closer to consumers and to promote local, more reassuring consumption. This event invited the public to taste seafood rice/soup and further familiarize themselves with Taiwan's high-quality grouper.

In terms of exports, Taiwan has gained international acclaim for the cultivation techniques of groupers based on accumulated knowhow and experience. Largehead hairtail is a major catch in Taiwan's coastal and offshore waters. With the cold chain and processing capacity of Xingda Harbor Fishermen's Association processing plant, and under the export measures from the central government and joint assistance with the local government, mature grouper and largehead hairtail have successfully entered the international market and sold to Japan with production traceability. The export of the high-quality aquatic products from Taiwan enhances the global visibility of Taiwanese aquatic products.

Taiwan Marine Industry Cluster Park around Xingda Harbor in Kaohsiung promotes ecotourism through the diversified operations of the aquaculture industry and integration with the fishing village culture and tourist attractions. This has transformed the fishing port into a multifunctional complex for lifestyle, culture, tourism, and leisure.

This business model connects and combines the industry players and resources from different activities such as production, processing, distribution, and sales and encompasses aquaculture, fishing techniques, product development, and marketing management. Industry participants can develop and operate in their specific roles across the aquaculture industry. It is through horizontal and vertical connectivity, communication and coordination that suitable business models are integrated and created.

Therefore, it is crucial to formulate the management policies and systems for the fishing industry regarding how to connect government agencies, local fishing associations, and academic institutions for cooperation to deepen horizontal and vertical linkages, adjust and improve the aquaculture industry, and review the resources in different villages and areas. The purpose is to guide other regions to follow this paradigm by realizing the added value within the aquatic and aquaculture value chain and to achieve the development driven by market demand. This serves as a reference and sets the direction of learning for Taiwan's coastal and offshore fisheries and for collective efforts in pursuit of SDGs for the sustainability of the fishing industry in Taiwan.