After traveling over land and water, we finally reached our destination, Maling, a small station along the East-West Cross Island Highway.
Maling (Horse Mound), is neither a habitat for horses or an observation post for taking a distant view; it is only a rise in a deep-mountain valley. It is surrounded by unspoiled forests where fresh spring water and rushing streams abound. Here, you cannot see smoke from kitchen fires or hear voices. Only a small police post appears before us. A dry riverbed beside the post feeds down to the winding Tachia River.
Looking down from the river bank, we see 14 man-made fishponds terraced like paddy fields. This is Taiwan's first trout farm.
In an old wooden house on the farm three researchers of the Lukang branch of the Taiwan Fishery Research Institute busily extract fish roe. Outside the house, numerous trout swim casually about the clear concrete holding ponds.
"These are rainbow trout. The name comes from the rainbow-colored band on each side of the fish," says Weng Jen-chu, a graduate scientist of the National College of Marine and Oceanic Technology. Pointing to the largest pond, he notes that, "About 400 spawners are in there. We have been selecting them for breeding purposes over the past two years."
It takes two years for a fry to reach maturity. Staff members of the Institute then, depending on their experience, select fast-growing fish with strong physical structure and good colors from the maturing trout. The chosen spawners are cultivated in the special pond and subjected to routine checkups.
"The males have darker skin, wider mouths and bigger teeth," comments the researcher. Taking a closer look at the pond I am excited to discover, exactly as described, that male trout really are darker; with mouths wide open they vigorously move about in the water. The female fish have bigger abdomens and smaller heads.
Mysterious mother nature weaves beautiful spring scenes into all God's creations. Flowers blossom, birds sing on the tips of branches and rainbow trout show an exotic anxiety as water temperatures rise. This is the season for collecting spawners' eggs and sperm.
Every Thursday despite the cold water, staff members Tang Chien-yi, Weng Jen-chu and Wu Min-yi spread a big fish net to hold the spawners for inspection and selection: they pick only the best. They first choose females and strip the eggs. Ordinarily, each female can produce two to three thousand round eggs, each with a diameter of 5mm. The eggs are processed on a fine flat sieve, the broken ones washed out with sail water. The next step is to strip semen or melt from mature male spawners and gently mix it with the eggs.
Choosing the best of the females, fat with eggs. (File photo)
Washed fertilized eggs are poured into incubators in a hatching chamber. A constant flow of spring water, controlled at 9-13 degrees Centigrade, runs through the fertilized eggs, After 23 days the so-called "eyed eggs" will be produced. And on the 30th day tiny trout will hatch. In two more weeks they can be fed small bait.
These baby fish require exacting care. The flow of water must be just right. Sufficient oxygen must be provided. Precautions against disease are equally important. A newly hatched trout is about 15mm long, with oval stripes on each side.' They grow rapidly. In two years they can measure 50mm and weigh more than two pounds.
A member of the salmon family, trout abound in different species. They are a noble looking fish, originally from cold water areas of the world. Every fall they swim up stream and lay eggs at secluded places in the headwaters. After spawning, the mother trout dies and her body becomes food for the young. The next spring, the fingerlings swim down to streams, lakes, rivers and even the ocean.
Fish of the salmon family breed in an endless cycle. They leave their birthplaces while young and return when they mature. They always remember the route they travel to the lakes, rivers or ocean, and return with precision to their place of origin.
With tender meat and only a few fish bones, trout is considered among the best dishes provided by the piscine kingdom. Records show that even before the 18th century, mass cultivation of trout was underway in Europe. On the guest dining tables of importing countries trout has always been a delicacy, adding glory to the host. About a century ago, trout was introduced to Taiwan from Japan. But it is only a short time ago that the fish started to become a "spoiled guest" in this country. Currently, Taiwan is the only subtropical country successful at trout culture.
As early as 1918 a Japanese fisherman-naturalist discovered a land-locked trout in the upper stream of the Tachia River, more than 6,600ft above sea level. The news surprised fishery research institutions in the United States and Japan. How could a fish of the temperate zone grow in subtropical Taiwan? Since the trout was found in the Tachia River, it was named "Tachia Trout" by Japanese fish specialists.
Eight years ago, at 60, fish specialist Cheng Ming-neng started a study toward the ecological protection of high mountain fish. Thirty years ago he traveled from Hualian through the Central Range to the Wuling Farm area. He saw schools of Tachia trout swimming in a crystal stream. But the scene was destroyed, as people began to catch fish by using poisons, explosives and electricity.
For his later study, Cheng climbed in the high mountains and up rugged little brooks, trying to find traces of trout. But he was to be disappointed, and almost gave up hope of finding the trout. One time he took the risk of traveling to a cold and secluded valley by Mt. Snow, where man was unlikely to have penetrated. But he still could not find the trout. Discouraged, he decided to go back to the Wuling Farm area for a last try.
Fine eggs from the best possible parent stock. (File photo)
Cheng, in a diving suit, set out at night with his colleagues amidst bone-chilling wind and rains. He dived into the river and checked every hole he could find. Suddenly, in the current, he found a 3-inch little fish; almost at the same time, another two with vertical stripes, red chest fins and about 10 big spots. It was exactly the kind of fish he had dreamed of. He was beside himself with joy.
Perhaps geological changes in the Tachia River, obstructing the flow of the river, had prevented the trout from swimming down to the ocean, In any case, some stayed and produced young in the cool streams of the lonely high mountains.
In 1957, the Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute began a new experiment. By raising the temperate Japanese rainbow trout in this subtropical island, they planned to expand Taiwan's fish culture.
The first fry release team; after a 4-day journey to the upper streams of the Tachia River, put 2,000 fertilized rainbow eggs in the streams and studied the hatching and growing condition of the fish. The first results were unsuccessful.
Despite the failure, the Institute tried again and again, using "eyed eggs" imported from Japan. The results were the same. Finally, in January of 1961, they achieved success in a pond built near Maling. The next October, the harvest season of the fish, the Institute specially presented several live rainbow trout to the late President Chiang Kai-shek, symbolizing the rich fruit of this country's fish culture.
Twilight in the high mountains arrives earlier. With little sunshine, Maling is cold and wet throughout the day. Researcher Weng makes his routine checks on the reservoir, which store spring water from the nearby mountain. "We are short of water in the winter, and in the summer, flash floods from the mountains give us real trouble," complains Weng, He walks back to the little wooden house and fetches food for the fish. The young trout have a diet of tinier fish and insect larvae, rich in protein and vitamins. They are fed four times a day.
Every night, Weng and Tang take turns checking the temperature and water supply of fishponds and hatcheries. It is because the trout "lives in luxury" that its flesh is also considered prime for the table. Trout can be steamed, smoked and made into Japanese sashimi. The tender meat is rich in Vitamin D, which has a function in promoting metabolism and bone growth.
The Tachia River, running through high mountains and low plains, is the locale of two opposing and critical events in the ecology of Taiwan. The Tachia trout, survived from the glacial epoch, has almost vanished. And the more vigorous rainbow has now been successfully raised. That best proves that the rise and fall of many species of life on earth is truly in the hands or human beings.