Aquaculture Practices in Taiwan and Its Visions

Abstract

Aquaculture in Taiwan began more than 300 years ago. In general, the history of aquaculture development in Taiwan can be divided in three stages: 1) Traditional stage (1661-1962); 2) Prosperous stage (1963-1987); and, 3) Transition stage (1988-present). At present, Taiwan is recognized as one of the countries with the most advanced and practical aquaculture technologies in the world. The significant achievements of aquaculture in Taiwan are the development of mass propagation and culture techniques for many aquaculture species including grass prawn, grey mullet, milkfish, tilapia, eel, and cobia among others. Biotechnological achievements are also noteworthy and these include the production of transgenic fish for the aquarium industry (e.g. zebrafish), development of molecular diagnostic techniques for most viral diseases of prawns, and the use of bioproducts for disease prevention in prawns. As aquaculture continued to prosper which contributed significantly to the country's fisheries production, food supply, rural livelihood, employment generation and socio-economic growth, problems were also encountered which resulted in the partial collapse of the industry. And the fact that most aquafarmers are too profit-oriented, overseeing these problems in exchange for higher production also resulted in negative effects on the aquaculture industry in the long run. Some government rules and policies, as well as bureaucracy, hinder the advancement of the industry towards sustainable aquaculture. With the current situation of the aquaculture industry in Taiwan, which is somehow not in harmony of what is happening in the world aquaculture, there is an urgent need to propose strategies that can sustain the industry in the future, including: strengthening of traditional techniques (e.g. on mass larval production); scientific research on nutrition and health; development of environment-friendly aquaculture systems; value-addition among processed aquaculture products; and, institutional cooperation locally, nationally and internationally.