The Home of Sturgeon Experts:

Chienhu Chuanchi Fish Farm

Lynn Su　/　photos by Lin Min-hsuan　/　tr. by Phil Newell

April 2026

中文

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In the mountains of New Taipei City’s Sanxia District, the air is clear and cold, and the gurgling Dabao River provides an abundant supply of water all year round. Chienhu Chuanchi Fish Farm, located on the river’s upper reaches near Manyueyuan National Forest Recreation Area, is set in a lovely landscape.

Lin Dian and Ye Fuhua are a husband-and-wife team comprising “a fisherman and a cook.” They didn’t study aquaculture in school, nor did they inherit a family business.

Their story starts in 1987. At that time Lin, still a student, enjoyed fishing. He came with a group of fellow students to fish in the Dabao River, and they got to know an older man who was engaged in aquaculture there, a business that Lin and others later took over. However, after the devastation caused by Typhoon Soudelor in 2015, the partners withdrew one after another, leaving only Lin and Ye to resolutely carry on the operations.

A great aquaculture environment

The biggest attraction for engaging in aquaculture in this area is simple: the steady supply of clean water, which is abundant even in the winter dry season. Lin relates that Taiwan shoveljaw carp, known as “fireflies of the water” for the way their silvery scales shimmer, can often be seen in the Dabao River. The pristine natural environment makes the area particularly suited to raising sturgeon, which are quite demanding about water quality.

Lin Jincun, the couple’s son, who now manages the business, says, “Because the water quality is so good, there is no need to add medications and chemicals.” The fish farm uses a height difference to draw natural river water into its ponds, after basic filtration, sediment settling, and aeration. Also, the water is never reused. As a result, the water in the fish ponds is crystal clear, and there is no offputting odor.

Chienhu Chuanchi Fish Farm, located in the hills of New Taipei City’s Sanxia District, specializes in rearing sturgeon—a cold-water fish—using mountain river water. The water in the fish ponds is not recirculated, so there is no unpleasant odor.

A legendary reputation

Chienhu Chuanchi (qianhu chuanqi—“thousand-household legend”) was originally called Shanzhong Chuanqi (“legend in the mountains”), referring to its location. Over time a variety of unique high-value fish have been raised there, including Chinese, Amur, Russian, Siberian, and beluga sturgeon as well as American paddlefish.

To master the critical skills and technology for his business, Lin Dian, who entered this industry mid-career, even went for a time to the Mississippi River in the US, home of the American paddlefish, to learn. It was only after a further three or four years that he mastered the technique of sturgeon hatching, learning by trial and error.

At present the farm has 30-plus ponds with a total of 20,000 fish. Set up indoors, the ponds have no lights on during the day, maintaining dim lighting in imitation of the sturgeon’s natural environment. The octagonal ponds discharge effluent very efficiently, and are equipped with automatic fish feeders and connected to a smart monitoring system. In addition, a small number of Murray cod are kept in each pond to eat other types of fish that hatch from eggs carried in by the river water, serving as a biological control.

Lin Dian, who only took up aquaculture mid-career, has continually refined his skills to become a sturgeon expert. (courtesy of Chienhu Chuanchi)

The octagonal indoor fish ponds at Chienhu Chuanchi provide for good effluent discharge and flow rate control.

Lin Jincun (left), heir to the fish farm, has already taken over day-to-day operations from Lin Dian (right) and Ye Fuhua (center), from whom he learned his skills.

Royal Delicacy

Sturgeon, an ancient fish that already existed in the age of the dinosaurs, is a species originating in cold regions at high latitudes. It has no scales, but rather five rows of bony plates called scutes along its back, belly, and sides that support and protect it.

The sturgeon has the advantage of lacking the small intramuscular bones of most fish, having only a number of cartilaginous bones, which after prolonged cooking entirely dissolve into fish collagen. It is also low in fat, high in protein, and rich in collagen, and offers three times as much unsaturated fatty acid as most fish. It was once a popular delicacy in royal households in both East and West.

Good fish, good food

Chienhu Chuanchi, which has an excellent reputation in the sturgeon aquaculture industry, formerly mainly supplied restaurants. However, as visitors who came to enjoy the river continually dropped by to inquire about their fish, they went with the flow and opened their own dining establishment. In 2015 the eatery gained Tian Mama certification, and in 2018 the farm received Traceable Agricultural Products certification. As Lin Dian says: “I raise good fish, and she [Ye Fuhua] prepares good food.”

The classic dishes served at the restaurant include simple steamed sturgeon, and sturgeon sashimi. Fresh sturgeon has a clean flavor without any earthy taste, so preparing it in the simplest way possible allows the quality of the fish to shine through.

Because sturgeon has no small bones, the steaks or fillets are largely intact and solid. “It can be used to make many dishes normally prepared with chicken,” says Lin Jincun. Appetizing kung-pao sturgeon or deep-fried sturgeon fillets stuffed with cheese are signature dishes you won’t readily find elsewhere.

The farm also offers herbal soup made with cartilage and Traditional Chinese Medicine ingredients, as well as a honey and fish collagen drink made in collaboration with a local beekeeper.

So come to the mountains for sturgeon, and you will discover for yourself that Chienhu Chuanchi’s “legendary” reputation is well deserved.

1. Stir-fried sturgeon liver and intestines. 2. Kung-pao sturgeon. 3. Sturgeon sashimi. 4. Deep-fried sturgeon fillets with cheese. 5. Steamed sturgeon.