Dances with Sea Turtles

Xiaoliuqiu is located southwest of the mouth of the Gao­ping River, just 8.9 nautical miles from Donggang in Pingtung County. With an area of some 6.8 square kilo­meters, it is Taiwan’s only coral island. Taiwanese underwater photographer Ace Wu (Wu Yung-sen), one of whose photos appears on the cover of the United Nations’ Second World Ocean Assessment, was pleasantly surprised to encounter seven or eight sea turtles on a single dive off Xiao­liuqiu.

He also discovered that there are many young sea creatures in the waters around Xiaoliuqiu. Using the latest blackwater photography techniques, he captured many of these young fish at Dafu Fishing Port. Some of the most impressive shots were of tiny sailfish no bigger than a finger.

There are only seven species of sea turtles left in the world, and Taiwan is lucky enough to have five of them, with the green sea turtle being the most common. In 2021, the Ocean Conservation Administration conducted a survey in the waters around Xiaoliuqiu and spotted as many as 805 sea turtles. The hotspots for sea turtle feeding include the reefs around Vase Rock and Beauty Cave Beach, along with the intertidal zones at Duziping, Shanfu, Haban Bay, Lobster Cave, and Yuchengwei.

“Wherever there’s a restaurant, there’s always a crowd of people gathering to eat. And the same goes for animals!” According to Professor Cheng I-jiunn, known as the “father of Taiwan’s green sea turtles,” corals and their symbiotic algae meet each other’s nutritional and other needs, while sea turtles feast on seaweed and seagrass in areas with little disturbance, making this an attractive habitat for them. The coast of Xiaoliuqiu has many areas of gently sloping beaches and rock pools, where it is easy for visitors to view sea turtles as they feed in the shallow water. Professor Cheng’s Marine Ecology and Conservation Research Lab at National Taiwan Ocean University used a photo-­based pattern recognition technology to determine that there are between 200 and 250 sea turtles feeding in the waters near Xiaoliuqiu.

Sea turtle spotting is one of Xiaoliuqiu’s unique tourist attractions. If you watch the sea patiently from the shore, you will likely see the amazing sight of a sea turtle surfacing for air.

Protecting turtles

Xiaoliuqiu has become a popular tourist destination, but has also caught the attention of many who are concerned about the island’s sustainability. A group of self-proclaimed “turtle fanatics”—Su Huai, Polly Chen, Amber Feng, and Daphne He—founded the “TurtleSpot Taiwan” community on social media in 2017. They asked the public to submit photos of turtles spotted in Taiwan’s waters and used the unique scale patterns on their faces to create a photo ID database of individual turtles. Those who discover new turtles even get to name them! The group has so far recorded more than 700 individual turtles from all over Taiwan.

According to Feng’s analysis, the green sea turtle is the most common of the sea turtles resident in the ­waters around Taiwan. Su adds that they are constantly updating their turtle registry.

Xiaoliuqiu’s crystal-clear waters are perfect for activities like stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, and snorkeling, which are a big hit with tourists.

Xiaoliuqiu covers an area of only 6.8 square kilometers, but it boasts five fishing ports and the highest density of boat captains of any township in Taiwan.

The waters around Xiaoliuqiu are teeming with fish, and the markets are full of fresh catches. Seafood is a must-buy and must-try local specialty.

Land of fisher folk and sea captains

Before becoming a popular tourist destination, Xiao­liu­qiu was a peaceful fishing community. Located in the path of a branch of the Kuroshio Current, the island is visited by a rich variety of migratory fish. It has five fishing ports, and historically up to 90% of residents have been engaged in the fishing industry. Many people have followed in the footsteps of their older brothers or fathers and started working on boats right after graduating from middle school, or even elementary school. Currently, there are 640 fishing boats registered with the Liuqiu Fishermen’s Association (LFA), and a total of 8,044 captains have registered with the association since it was founded in 1953, the highest concentration of captains in Taiwan.

Eighteen-year-old Cai Zhengcheng has been sailing with his captain father on long voyages since gaining his seafarer’s certificate last year. While it can be tough work, he says, seeing a fish caught on the hook makes it all worthwhile.

Hong Shenghui is a 60-year-old captain and a member of the LFA’s supervisory board. He’s been on the water since he graduated middle school, first traveling with his father across three oceans and five continents in pursuit of high-value tuna and billfish. Back in the day, they used to fly their catch to Japan on special planes when they docked in foreign ports, and on their return trips they caught bluefin tuna. One time they caught 32 of them, with an average weight of over 300 kilograms each. Hong beams with pride when he talks about those bountiful years.

These memories reveal the proud position of the people of Xiaoliuqiu in Taiwan’s fishing industry. LFA staffer Zeng Yuzong says that in the industry’s heyday, the auction price of tuna at Tsukiji Market in Tokyo was determined by the people of Xiaoliuqiu.

Hong Shenghui of the Liuqiu Fishermen’s Association started fishing with his father when he was a teenager. He has fished across three oceans and five continents. In his early years, he specialized in catching high-value fish such as tuna, which were then flown directly to Japan for auction.

Pingtung’s Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival has made Donggang famous, and most years the first tuna landed there is caught by a fishing boat from Xiaoliuqiu. In 2023, the first tuna was caught by Captain Hong Mingquan on the Xiaoliuqiu boat Xin Facai No. 1.

The call of the bluefin

The waters around Xiaoliuqiu are teeming with a large variety of bottom-dwelling and migratory fish. During different fishing seasons, you can catch species like narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, flying fish, and largehead hairtail. And all year round, you can reel in fish like mahi-mahi, grouper, and yellow croaker. No matter the season, there’s always a colorful array of seafood to enjoy at the dinner table. Offshore and deep-sea fishing boats mainly focus on catching economically valuable fish like tuna, billfishes, and sharks.

Every year from April to June is the main event—the bluefin tuna fishing season. The migratory northern bluefin tuna can be found in the waters of the Bashi Strait south of Taiwan, preparing to spawn. This is when bluefin tuna is at its most delicious. In 2001, the Pingtung County Government launched the Bluefin Tuna Cultural Festival in Donggang, creating billions of NT dollars in business opportunities. The auction price of bluefin tuna has been climbing every year. This year’s “first tuna” was landed in March, going for a new high at auction of NT$10,200 per kilogram and marking the start of the tuna season.

The arrival of the bluefin tuna season gets the fisher­men fired up! Almost all of the offshore fishing boats that dock in Xiaoliuqiu set sail to catch these prized fish. It’s a sight to behold as the boats come and go, showcasing the thrill of the seas and the excitement of earning big bucks.

Due to limited port capacity, the docks in Xiaoliuqiu can only accommodate small fishing boats, sampans, and rafts that operate in inshore and offshore waters. There is no auction market on the island, so larger vessels must unload and auction their catch in Donggang or Kaohsiung. According to the LFA, over 60% of the catch in Donggang comes from boats registered in Xiaoliuqiu. In fact, many of the “first tuna” of each tuna season in Pingtung are caught by boats from Xiaoliuqiu.

In recent years, fishing stocks have been depleted, and the cost of fishing has gone up due to higher fuel prices and crew wages, making it uncertain whether a voyage will even result in a catch, let alone turn a profit. But when the bluefin tuna season comes around, captains are still willing to take a chance and head out to sea.

Captain Wang Shitang says, “Leaving port is like playing the lottery—you can’t win if you don’t play.”

Right now, the star catch in Xiaoliuqiu is mahi-mahi. Mahi-mahi jerky, mahi-mahi fried rice, and even mahi-­mahi zongzi for Dragon Boat Festival—all of these special treats would not exist without the local fishing industry.

 

Due to the high risks of sailing, the people of Xiaoliuqiu are very devout in their faith. Many women get up early in the morning and go to Biyun Temple to pray for the safety and success of their family members at sea.

Xiaoliuqiu’s unique rock formations are a testament to the incredible power of nature.

Go with the gods

Because of the high risks involved in taking to the sea, the people of Xiaoliuqiu are deeply devoted to their religious beliefs. The local government estimates that there are over 100 public and private temples on the island, giving it the densest concentration of places of worship in Taiwan. Major faith centers such as Biyun Temple and Sanlong Temple,  along with the many smaller temples, all have deity statues that fishermen can invite to accompany them on their voyage. Temple officials say that fishermen must cast divination blocks and have them fall in the shengjiao position three times running, indicating the deity’s acceptance of their invitation, to take a statue with them on board.

Hong Shenghui says that for seafarers, safety is the top priority. Sometimes, when they can’t catch anything, they will ask their families to make wishes at the temple. Many people regularly donate money to a temple’s building fund when their wishes are fulfilled, which is why there are so many magnificent temples on Xiao­liu­qiu. Biyun Temple often has believers making donations in fulfillment of vows made, or offering theatrical performances to the gods. In the heyday of the fishing industry, so many performances were donated that temples had to arrange a strict schedule to fit them all in. Every three years, Xiaoliuqiu holds a festival to worship Wangye, the Thousand-Year-Old Lord and Imperial Inspector, inviting him to visit and bless the area. It’s even livelier than the Lunar New Year celebrations, and those who have moved away from home or are out at sea will make sure to return to the island and join in the festivities.

Xiaoliuqiu may be known for its abundance of boat captains and temples, but it is also sometimes called the “land of many school principals.” According to Zeng Yuzong, in the early days, those who didn’t work on boats had to study hard to escape poverty. And with the island’s fishing community known for their tenacity and perseverance, many of them went on to become teachers and eventually rose through the ranks to become school principals.

Professor Peter Yuan of National Cheng Kung University gives an introduction to the geological makeup of Xiaoliuqiu. The surface is composed of limestone, while the base is mudstone. The calcium carbonate nodules between the two are the foundation for coral reef growth and a rare phenomenon worldwide.

Wild Boar Trench (Shanzhugou) is the area where the island’s native vegetation is best preserved. The tree roots sprawling over uplifted coral limestone create a truly impressive sight.

Geological marvels everywhere

Xiaoliuqiu is not just about excelling in these three categories, though—there are also many beautiful coral reefs on land.

According to Peter Yuan, associate professor of Earth Sciences at National Cheng Kung University, for geologists deep-sea mudstone and shallow-water limestone are like oil and water—they just don’t mix. But on Xiaoliuqiu, there’s a layer of limestone that’s ten meters thick, yet deep-sea mudstone has somehow made its way onto the island’s surface. How did that happen?

Yuan explains that Xiaoliuqiu was formed by a mud volcano erupting from the seabed due to intense pressure within the Earth’s crust. This caused mudstone to rise above the surface of the sea, and the calcium carbonate nodules that formed on the surface of the mudstone became the foundation for coral reef growth. As a result, the island not only has limestone, but also deep-sea mudstone and calcium carbonate nodules, a rare combination

At the site of the former Yong’an Bridge, you can explore some really unique geology. Our guide, Peter Yuan, leads us on a daring climb across the limestone crags to reach a depression in the rock. The cliff above this depression is made up of mudstone from the Pliocene Era, dating back 2.5 to 5 million years. The rock face reveals layer upon layer of sediment, including rounded pebbles and fossilized imprints. At the very top is a layer of coral limestone from 1 million years ago, making the site a perfect showcase of the geological movement that raised Xiaoliuqiu out of the seas. Over at Shamaji, we only see coral reef geology, but it still gives us a glimpse into the unique geological movements that shaped this island.

Everywhere you look on the island, there are amazing geological wonders to behold! For example, at Houshi Shore you can see sea-eroded pillars rising up behind the shore reef. And near the Ocean View Pavilion, there are shore reefs and collapsed cliffs that will take your breath away. The whole island is a treasure trove of geological marvels.

Yuan says that on Xiaoliuqiu, the visible surface is made up of only ten meters of limestone, but the main geological structure of the island is actually dominated by mudstone, which makes the soil dense and saline, making farming difficult. Chen Yinghong adds that in earlier times, sweet potatoes were the main crop, but in recent years they have switched to growing mango trees. The island’s residents use seaweed that washes up on the shore as fertilizer, resulting in sweet and fragrant fruit with a taste reminiscent of peaches.

The ocean, geology, and fishing village culture have enriched the charm of Xiaoliuqiu, attracting millions of visitors in recent years. The Pingtung County Govern­ment has accelerated the construction of sewage treatment facilities on the island and regulated access to the intertidal zones in order to protect marine life. They also encourage visitors to find high points on land to listen to the sound of the waves and gaze at the sea rather than going into the water to watch the sea turtles swim. You might even catch sight of a turtle popping its head out of the water to take a breath!

When you visit Xiaoliuqiu, you can do your part for sustainable tourism and to protect the ocean, helping it become a thriving hub for eco-tourism and learning.

Residents take seaweed washed ashore by the waves, dry it in the sun, and use it as fertilizer for mango trees. The fruits are prized for their delicate flesh and peach-like fragrance.