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Marlin catch plunges as Kuroshio Current shifts

People look at a big catch of marlin at a market in Hualien yesterday. PHOTO: YOU TAI-LANG, TAIPEI TIMES

This year's marlin catch is only half of that last year, which may be attributed to changes in the course of the Kuroshio Current, fishermen in Taitung County said.

The Kuroshio Current, also known as the Japan Current, is a strong western boundary current in the northwestern Pacific Ocean which begins off the east coast and flows northeastward past Japan.

The route of the Kuroshio Current affects fish hauls because fishing points for various fish species following the Kuroshio Current can change.

Taiwanese fishermen are normally able to catch up to 100 marlin per day for sale at the county's Singang Harbor (新港) and fish market at this time of year, but this year, fewer than 50 marlin per day are available, local fishermen said.

The fishing vessel Mingteh (明德), for example, returned to port with only three marlin yesterday.

“But fortunately, we caught a big marlin weighing more than 100kg, “ said Chang Ming-teh (張明德), the captain of the boat.

“In the past, I could easily catch at least five or six fish during an outing, but this year, it has been difficult to catch even one at times,” said Chang, who put his income so far this year at NT$200,000 (US$6,040), far below the NT$500,000 he earned last year.

Marine biologist Chiang Wei-chuang said the warm Kuroshio Current from the tropics and the cold Oyashio Current from the sub-Arctic region, provide one of the best fishing grounds in the world for marlin and other species when they converge off Taiwan's eastern coast in winter.

But with a change of the movement of the Kuroshio, fishermen have had trouble searching for fishing grounds near where the two currents converge.

“It's been strange. We haven't been able to locate the Kuroshio Current when we've been out fishing this year,” Chang said.

The veteran fisherman believes that the Kuroshio Current has probably shifted away from Taiwan toward Green Island, leading to the disappearance of the traditional marlin fishing grounds.

Such a shift toward Green Island, 33km off Taitung, would occur three or four days a month in the past, Chang said, but this was the first time in his 30 years on the seas that he had been unable to locate the Kuroshio Current throughout the month of October.

Chang said that the Kuroshio Current, which normally flows northward before veering to the northeast as it passes northeastern Taiwan, is now heading on a northeast course even before approaching Taitung.

Marine biologist Chiang remains puzzled by the strange phenomenon, saying that because research in Taiwan on the Kuroshio Current was limited, the causes of its shifting course were unclear.
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