Saving the Formosan Landlocked Salmon

Asianometry

Discovery and Scientific Classification (1918)

Graduate student Masamitsu Oshima traveled to Japanese colony Taiwan to map freshwater fish population
Discovered red-spotted salmon specimen collected by colleague Takeo Aoki from stream near Taichung mountains
Specimen reminded Oshima of Japanese trout but different
Reported to doctoral advisor Dr. David Star Jordan (ichthyologist, first Stanford chancellor, eugenicist)
November 1918: announced discovery of new species - Formosan landlocked salmon
One of Taiwan's rarest fish species

Chinese name: "cherry hook kiss mouth salmon"
Cold water fish, 30 centimeters long (about foot long)
Sister subspecies to Japanese salmon
Southernmost natural salmon population in world
Body: dark turquoise/green with silver white belly
Features: 8-12 dark bands (par marks), 11-31 black spots on back, wide hooked mouth
Survival requirement: water temperatures below 16°C
Habitat: streams/tributaries over 1,500 meters above sea level

Ancestors migrated 10-80 million years ago from Sea of Japan up Taiwan's rivers
Glacial retreat at end of ice age trapped salmon on mountaintops (prevailing theory)
Normal salmon lifecycle: spawn/born in rivers → migrate to sea → return to breed
Formosan salmon landlocked: no sea access due to warm lower river temperatures
Adapted to trace up/down river in Tatia River's flat upper reaches
Tatia River basin provided unique sanctuary for tens of thousands of years

1949: widely distributed in high mountain streams
Early 1950s observational report: abundant fish, clean water, easy catching
Few people lived/visited area, flourishing trees, undestroyed natural environment
1950s-70s: range shrunk to single 7-kilometer section in Chiawan stream (upper Tatia River)

Development of Taiwan's central areas: new highways, settlements
Population increase: 500 scattered indigenous → 55,000 Weishan and other settlers
Destructive fishing methods: poison, dynamite, electricity
Dam construction isolating/shrinking population
Touchy Dam (1974): Taiwan's tallest at 778 feet, significant engineering achievement
Silt-trapping dams limiting habitat
Illegal logging activities and deforestation

Symbol of Taiwan's endemic animal populations (with Formosan Sika deer, Mikado pheasant)
Featured on 2000 NTD bill
Aboriginal tribes fished for over 4,000 years, believed gift from ancestors
Comparison: many island endemic species (New Zealand) wiped out by human settlement
Taiwan already lost Formosan clouded leopard

1938: Japanese colonial government declared national treasure
Prohibited illegal logging, imposed fishing moratorium during breeding season
Post-WWII: ROC pursued economic development, habitat deteriorated
1976: biologists raised alarm about decline
1984: Taiwan government declared endangered species, committed to preservation
Publicity campaigns: TV, national papers, referred to as "national treasured fish"
Symbol of Taiwan's identity
140,000 annual tourists visited Wuling area
Local farmers started "salmon patrol" against illegal fishing
1993: Shei-Pa National Park established to protect entire habitat

Population rebounded briefly, peaked in 1987
Subsequent decline from human activities and natural disasters
Debate: local agricultural residents vs. conservationists
Farmers' logging/farming activities disturb habitat
Removing silt-trapping dams would help fish but damage valuable Touchy Dam downstream
2000: 5 pairs wild salmon collected for captive breeding programs
5,000 individuals bred through aqua farm
2004: Typhoon Ariel destroyed farm, released captive salmon
Result: population increase but genetic diversity decline
Scientists continue studying long-term genetic impact

Contrast: high-tech skyscrapers/sophisticated technology companies vs. dense mountain wilderness
Fish trapped in single mountain stream 2 kilometers above sea level
Metaphor for Taiwan itself: cut off from rest of world

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