Yunlin showcases smart aquaculture success: data-driven fish farming enhances productivity and sustainability

(中央社訊息服務20260612 10:16:29)To promote industrial upgrading and encourage young people to return to their hometowns and engage in the fishing industry, the Yunlin County Government actively promotes entrepreneurship and aquaculture equipment subsidy policies. In 2025, it launched the "Yunlin County Government Smart Aquaculture Innovation Business Subsidy Program" for the first time, aiming to introduce new technologies and improve aquaculture efficiency, and to move towards a new milestone of smart sustainability. On May 7, County Magistrate Chang Li-shan (張麗善), Director of Agriculture Wei Sheng-te (魏勝德), and Taixi Township Mayor Li Wen-lai (李文來) went to the hard clam farm owned by Li Tsung-tsan to inspect the results of the program.

County Magistrate Chang pointed out that with the increasing risks and rising costs in aquaculture, it is crucial to introduce smart technology to help fishermen save time, effort, and labor. Today, she visited the clam farm of Li Tsung-tsan, a clam expert in Taixi. She saw how he integrates real-time monitoring data such as dissolved oxygen, pH value, redox potential, water temperature, and salinity through a technological equipment system, easily transmitting the data to his mobile phone. Combined with remote video and data analysis platforms, the system provides immediate warnings when abnormalities occur. With such complete control over the pond bottom, he can adjust and optimize the farming environment at any time, resulting in excellent clam farming performance. Not only has the yield increased by 80%, but each clam is also plump and of high quality.

County Magistrate Chang said that Li, a clam expert, invested NT$2 million to build a "Smart Aquaculture Innovation Demonstration Site," of which NT$900,000 was subsidized by the Yunlin County Government's "Smart Aquaculture Innovation Project Subsidy Program." This demonstration site has become the first smart clam farming site in the county. Rather than keeping his success to himself, he hopes to help other fishermen and is willing to replicate his success story with them, so that all fishermen in the coastal areas can successfully farm in extreme climate conditions and increase the value of their harvests through smart technology equipment and facilities, enabling the public to benefit from the sustainable and high-quality products of their aquaculture efforts.

The clam farming expert stated that this smart farming project will be expanded to the ninth class of the Taixi Clam Production and Marketing Group. Previously, it was promoted by schools and academic institutions. His clam farming command center is probably the first and only one in Taiwan to be implemented by the production and marketing group. Whether it is drastic weather conditions, extreme heat, or changes in water quality, the monitoring system can immediately alert the command center, enabling rapid communication with farmers and timely on-site intervention. With this smart farming system, management and monitoring can be carried out without having to go to the pond in person, avoiding the risk of getting tangled in weeds or falling into the fishpond. It can also save about 40% of labor, making farming more technological and intelligent.

Agriculture Department Director Wei stated that the Smart Aquaculture Innovation Project Subsidy Program includes "Smart Aquaculture Equipment," such as water quality sensing systems, smart feeding systems, and remote monitoring equipment, with a maximum subsidy of NT$300,000 per project; and the "Smart Aquaculture Innovation Project Demonstration Project," which encourages cross-sectoral collaboration between fishermen, academic research institutions, and equipment manufacturers in technology research and development, demonstration site construction, and production and sales innovation, with a maximum subsidy of NT$1 million per project. This was the first year of the program, with 29 individuals receiving subsidies totaling NT$5 million. It is hoped that fishermen will make good use of government resources to upgrade their aquaculture environment and equipment, thereby strengthening their industry competitiveness.