Taiwan Today

Driving on Highway 2 along the northern coast of Taiwan, few would fail to notice the handful of newly built, sombrero-shaped structures just outside Fugui Cape, the island’s northernmost tip. The buildings sit by Fuji fishing port, a tourist spot well known for fresh seafood, and are just as eye-catching in the evening when they are illuminated against the night sky. “This brand new site is very comfortable for tourists,” says Luo Jing-ru (羅靜如), a restaurant owner at Fuji, which is located in Shimen Township, New Taipei City. “We anticipate large crowds of tourists during the summer and fall, the high seasons for local businesses,” she adds.

The new facility consists of a fish market and an area housing seafood restaurants including Luo’s, and is part of a project by the New Taipei City Government to promote “Wanli crabs” and other regional seafood. The Wanli Crab Season was first held on a large scale in the fall of 2012 at Yehliu fishing port in Wanli Township on the northern coast, hence the name Wanli crab, which is a branding effort rather than a particular crab species. This year the promotion will extend to Guiho fishing port, which is located just a four-minute drive south of Yehliu, and Fuji fishing port, and is scheduled to begin in October. Yehliu hosts the festival’s major events since it is Taiwan’s major base for crabbing.

“The vast majority of the three sea crabs [crucifix crab, three-spot swimming crab and ridged swimming crab] on the market in Taiwan are from the northern coast,” says Liao Jung-ching (廖榮清), commissioner of New Taipei City Government’s Agriculture Department, explaining the choice of crabs as the star seafood item in the marketing campaign. Few Taiwanese, let alone visitors from abroad, know this fact, however, although the region is popular for its many scenic spots. Common tourist destinations include the lighthouse at Fugui Cape and Yehliu Geopark, which features spectacular rock formations caused by sea erosion. In fact, the cape, geopark and the three fishing ports selected for the Wanli crab festival are located within the North Coast and Guanyinshan National Scenic Area administered by Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau.

The good crab harvests in the region owe much to the Northwestern Fishing Ground, which is located about 35 nautical miles from Fugui Cape. It is here that water from the warmer, north-flowing Kuroshio Current, which branches around Taiwan, meets the colder south-flowing current that runs along mainland China’s eastern coast. In addition, the seabed at the point where the two currents meet is sandy and averages 90 meters in depth, all of which make it an ideal environment for crabs, and in turn an attractive spot for both Taiwanese and mainland Chinese fishing boats.

The fishing port at Fugui Cape is Taiwan’s closest to the fishing ground. “You only have to sail a couple of hours from Fuji and you can start to catch crabs,” says Guo Jia-quan (郭家全), a lifelong fisherman based in Yehliu who is now in his 50s. Few hunt crabs in the waters off the shores of eastern Taiwan, he says, where the main branch of the Kuroshio Current passes, because the ocean there is too deep for the most sought-after crabs.

Northern Bounty

As much as 80 percent of the crucifix, three-spot and ridged swimming crabs consumed in Taiwan are delivered from fishing ports in northern Taiwan. According to New Taipei City’s Agriculture Department, in 2011 the fishing ports at Wanli received 410 tons of crucifix crabs, 209 tons of three-spot crabs and 33 tons of ridged crabs, which are the smallest of the three.

No one has yet succeeded in farming these crabs, Liao adds, because relatively little is known about the three species. In contrast, species such as the mud crab and Chinese mitten crab have already been farmed on a large scale. The former, which typically lives in areas of low salinity such as river mouths and mangrove areas, is quite common at wedding banquets in Taiwan. The latter was introduced to Taiwan’s aquaculture farms from mainland China only in recent years.

Of the three wild crab types, only crucifix crabs can be captured in large amounts all year ’round, while all of them peak in quantity during the fall, which explains the month chosen for the Wanli Crab Season.

“Thanks to [the festival], the price of the crabs has increased a lot, much to the joy of local fishermen,” Guo says of the annual celebration, which was piloted as a one-day event in Yehliu in mid-October 2011. The crucifix crab, for example, has more than doubled in value since 2010, when it sold for NT$333 (US$10.50) per kilogram, compared with the current price, which recently peaked at NT$833 (US$28). “The promotional campaign is mainly to benefit the fishermen. It’s hard work to be away at sea for days at a time, which is quite common for them. They definitely deserve to make more money,” says Huang Ruei-lian (黃瑞蓮), a technical specialist in New Taipei City Government’s Agriculture Department.

The Wanli festival won wide media coverage and attracted about 10,000 people at its official launch in 2012, when it ran from mid-September to late November. In mid-September that year, the New Taipei City Government sponsored a warm-up event featuring free tastings of crab dishes such as crab porridge, the local specialty. “There are various ways to cook crab, but you should try it steamed first because cooking it that way retains its freshness,” says Liao, whose department is responsible for organizing the festival. In mid-October, the New Taipei City Government invited nine local and international chefs to create crab-themed dishes for a media event at the W Hotel in downtown Taipei City. The hotel’s promotion of crab-based dishes ran throughout that month.

On October 21, the main day of the 2012 Wanli Crab Season, visitors to Wanli could join a short trip guided by local volunteers to learn more about Yehliu’s crabbing culture, and have a hands-on experience of crabbing by joining a number of working vessels for a couple of hours. On the same day, festival organizers promoted a Taiwanese-style outdoor banquet at Yehliu featuring fresh Wanli crabs for some 300 foodies, who paid NT$660 (US$22) each to take part in the feast. Participants were chosen by lot as the event was so popular, which prompted organizers to hold a second banquet in early November. There was also a crab-themed photography contest, which garnered some 300 entries. Winning images were displayed during promotional events in Yehliu and at New Taipei City Hall.

Saving Some for Later

With the increasing popularity of crabs among foodies, however, comes the issue of conservation, which has become urgent due to the dwindling crab population. Demand for the crabs already outstrips supply, and the size of the crabs caught is smaller than in the past, Huang says. “The crab catch is only about half that of 10 years ago,” says Hsieh Kuan-yung (謝寬永), an associate professor of fishing gear and methods in the Department of Environmental Biology and Fisheries Science at National Taiwan Ocean University. “Too many fishing boats are catching crabs, and the tendency of mainland Chinese fishing boats to trawl for crabs doesn’t help the problem,” he says.

The practice of trawling, which is capable of capturing a large amount of crabs at a time, has generally been abandoned by Taiwanese fishermen. Instead, most local boats use baited cages to catch the creatures, although conservation of the species is not necessarily the reason behind the practice. “Trawling is likely to break the legs and claws of crabs and lead to their death. With cages, you can keep them alive and fresh all the way to the port,” veteran fisherman Guo says.

Hsieh hopes mainland Chinese fishermen will awaken to the need for sustainable fishing soon. For Taiwan’s part, the Fisheries Agency of the Cabinet-level Council of Agriculture started a project three years ago to put regulations in place for crab conservation. Basically two major goals have been established, according to Hsieh, who took part in discussions to formulate the new rules. One aim is to protect crabs that have yet to reach maturity, with the government agency deciding to ban the capture of sea crabs smaller than 8 centimeters in width—a compromise between the government’s initial proposal of 9.2 centimeters and that of fishing representatives, who suggested 6 centimeters.

The agency also hopes to ensure that female crabs carrying fertilized eggs are released back into the ocean if caught. This proposal has encountered strong protests from fishermen, however, and it is still under discussion. Guo says on average such crabs, which are especially meaty, account for as much as 30 to 40 percent of a catch. One solution might be to impose the ban for certain months rather than year ’round. If the two sides can reach an agreement soon, the new rules could take effect as soon as the beginning of 2014, Hsieh says.

As Taiwan searches for ways to make crabbing more sustainable, the Wanli event continues to grow. At Fuji fishing port, the new sombrero-shaped facilities are expected to impress the tourists in a number of ways. For example, customers can observe the workings of the restaurants’ kitchens through large windows, says Yang Tzong-han (楊宗翰), the manager of a company commissioned by the New Taipei City Government to run the facility. Yang hopes to cultivate a more professional atmosphere at the market by urging stall operators to wear uniforms and refrain from smoking, and by installing a number of scales throughout the market for customers to verify the weight of their purchases.

At Guiho, the New Taipei City Government has sponsored the construction of a new fish market, which consists of 14 shipping containers placed side by side. Each container is slated to cost around NT$300,000 (US$10,000) to install and outfit, and will house three concessions. The new facility is expected to open by early November this year. All of the available spaces have already been rented out to fishmongers such as Chen Chao-yi (陳朝義), who anticipates even better business this year. “Last year the [ripple effect of] promotional activities in neighboring Yehliu had a positive impact on my business, which grew by roughly 20 percent [during the festival],” says Chen, who has been selling fresh seafood in Guiho for more than 20 years.

Taiwan’s Own

New Taipei City Mayor Eric Liluan Chu (朱立倫) also sees the opportunities for businesses in promoting locally caught seafood. “Please come to savor the Wanli crab,” Chu said at a promotional activity for the festival in 2012. “For a long time we’ve known only imported brands, but now Taiwan has created one of its own.”

In mainland China, there is the mitten crab and Hokkaido, Japan has the king crab, both of which are quite familiar to Taiwanese. Perhaps soon the name Wanli crab will be equally well known, giving tourists one more reason to visit Taiwan’s northern coast.

Write to Oscar Chung at mhchung@mofa.gov.tw