Researchers have developed a method to farm Atlantic salmon in Taiwan’s subtropical climate using cold, clean seawater generated while processing liquefied natural gas, and locally farmed salmon is expected to be on the market in three years at two-thirds the price of imported salmon.
Taiwanese consume about 20,000 tonnes of Atlantic salmon every year, all of which are imported, with the annual domestic demand estimated at NT$5 billion (US$154.98 million), Fisheries Agency Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw (蔡日耀) said on Wednesday.
With that much demand, the agency wanted to develop a local salmon farming industry, but Taiwan’s warm climate is unsuitable for breeding the cold-water species, and it consumes a large amount of energy to cool water to raise salmon, which is neither cost-effective nor environmentally friendly, Tsay said.
However, there is a readily available and inexpensive source of cold seawater at state-run oil refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan’s Yongan Liquefied Natural Gas Plant in Kaohsiung, which uses a large amount of seawater to convert liquefied natural gas at minus-162oC to a gaseous state to be distributed as pipeline natural gas, and the agency has run a salmon farming program utilizing the cooling effect of the conversion.
National Taiwan Ocean University professor Nan Fan-hua (冉繁華), director of the agency’s program, said salmon breed best in water between 6oC and 16oC, and the team has developed a technique to keep the hatching rate of fish eggs and fry survival rate at 100 percent when water temperature is kept stable.
“We have developed the fastest salmon farming technique in the world. It takes us only 10 days to grow fry to the smolt phase to be taken out of freshwater tanks to seawater tanks. It takes about two-and-a-half years to grow salmon to market size, while it takes more than three years in other salmon-farming countries,” Nan said.
The team is able to raise salmon so quickly because water temperatures can be maintained at constant levels so fish can grow in the most suitable conditions without seasonal variations, and because the team has made good use of the nation’s famed grouper farming techniques, with many of the salmon-growing facilities and management system directly borrowed from grouper farms, Nan said.
It will take about two years to cultivate brood fish for reproduction, and one more year to grow salmon on a commercial scale, he said, adding that locally farmed salmon will be cheaper than imported salmon by at least one-third.
The wholesale price of salmon is between NT$200 and NT$250 per kilogram, the agency said.
“While it will still take some time for locally bred salmon to hit the market, it is 100 percent certain that we have the ability to breed the fish on a commercial scale. It is hoped that local salmon can completely replace imports,” Tsay said.
Taiwan’s grouper industry is facing increased competition from China, and the nation has to diversify its aquaculture to boost competitiveness, he added.
NEW AGREEMENT: Malaysia approved imports last year after nearly two years of negotiations and inspections to meet quarantine requirements, officials said Up to 3.6 tonnes of pomeloes from Taiwan cleared Malaysian customs on Friday, in the first shipment of Taiwanese pomeloes to Malaysia. Taiwan-grown pomeloes are popular in domestic and overseas markets for their tender and juicy taste, the Ministry of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency said. The fruit is already exported to Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and the Philippines, it added. The agency began applying for access to the Malaysian market in 2023, compiling data on climate suitability, pests and diseases, and post-harvest handling, while also engaging in nearly two years of negotiations with Malaysian authorities and submitting supplementary
PEAK MONTHS: Data showed that on average 25 to 27 typhoons formed in the Pacific and South China seas annually, with about four forming per month in July and October One of three tropical depressions in the Pacific strengthened into a typhoon yesterday afternoon, while two others are expected to become typhoons by today, Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecaster Lee Ming-hsiang (李名翔) said yesterday. The outer circulation of Tropical Depression No. 20, now Typhoon Mitag, has brought light rain to Hualien, Taitung and areas in the south, Lee said, adding that as of 2pm yesterday, Mitag was moving west-northwest at 16kph, but is not expected to directly affect Taiwan. It was possible that Tropical Depression No. 21 would become a typhoon as soon as last night, he said. It was moving in a
Tigerair Taiwan and China Airlines (CAL) today announced that several international flights were canceled or rescheduled due to Typhoon Ragasa. The Central Weather Administration (CWA) has maintained sea and land warnings for the typhoon. Its storm circle reached the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) on Taiwan's southern tip at 11am today. Tigerair Taiwan said it canceled Monday's IT551/IT552 Taoyuan-Da Nang, IT606/IT607 Taoyuan-Busan and IT602 Taoyuan-Seoul Incheon flights. Tomorrow, cancelations include IT603 Seoul Incheon-Taoyuan, as well as flights between Taoyuan and Sapporo, Osaka, Tokyo Narita, Okinawa, Fukuoka, Saga, Tokyo Haneda, Nagoya, Asahikawa and Jeju. On Wednesday, the IT321/IT322 Kaohsiung-Macau round-trip would also be canceled. CAL announced that today's
About nine Taiwanese are “disappeared,” detained, or otherwise deprived of freedom of movement in China each month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Between Jan. 1 last year and Aug. 31 this year, 188 Taiwanese travelers went missing, were detained and interrogated, or had their personal freedom restricted, with some questioned in airports or hotel lobbies, the council said. In a statement ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, the council urged people visiting China for any reason to be highly vigilant and aware of the risks. Of the reported cases, 50 people were “disappeared” after entering China, 19 were detained and 119 had
RSS