Sketch of Archilife Study Tour, April 2019
2019年4月份見識之旅縮影 ![]() For the study tour of April 20, 2019, Ms Lu Ming-yun led 28 ARF interns and their parents on a tour of Fangyuan aquaculture farm in Changhua and experienced a day as a fisher. It was clear and sunny on the day of the tour, and the interns and their parents were on time for the departure. At the start of the day's activities, team leader Ms. Lu Ming-yun reminded everyone about things to note and what to observe, and provided the interns some general background knowledge. ![]() The morning's itinerary brought everyone to Haha Fish Farm in Fangyuan, Changhua. The fish farm believes that seafood grown in a natural ecological environment is the most delicious. By allowing diverse species of organisms to co-exist and reproduce naturally, ecological balance is achieved as the fittest that survive will be the strongest and healthiest. On this tour, the farm owner Mr. Chen Ming-liao was the tour guide. He began the tour by introducing everyone to the river-mouth ecosystem, explaining that water for the fish farm comes from the sea. The cleanliness of water is determined by survival of fish and shrimps at the river mouth. He also used cast net and fishing net trap to catch fishes, enabling everyone to witness the biodiversity of the river-mouth ecosystem. He then explained how the fishing net trap is used and the principle behind it. He also gave a step-by-step demonstration of casting the fishing net and encouraged the interns to try it out to experience using the important tool fishermen depend on for their livelihood in the past. Next everyone wore wading pants and tried out the traditional fishing method of using Taiwanese beach seine. Divided into two groups, everyone stood on one or the other side of a large fishing net and worked together to drag the net back onto the shore when the bamboo raft had driven the fishes into the net, experiencing the team spirit of fishermen in the past. ![]() Lunch was the fresh and delicious fish caught by everyone in the morning. After lunch, the tour guide explained how female shrimps carry their eggs and their physiological changes during reproduction before bringing everyone to Hanbao Wetland to learn about intertidal living things. The interns looked for sand crabs using shovels and observe their characteristics up close. Next, the tour guide introduced the oyster field and parasitic organisms, pointing out that oysters are filter feeders which can purify water and their shells can convert carbon dioxide into calcium carbonate, which is highly efficient in carbon sequestration. Moreover, oyster reefs are natural coastal buffers, providing bottom dwellers habitat and refuge. The tour guide added that rearing oysters along coastal areas where the shoreline is level, continental shelf is gently sloping, and there is great rise and fall in the tides, will provide oysters with adequate nutrients. Due to the great temperature difference between the seawater and land, the oysters will work hard to release massive amount of sperms or eggs for reproduction when they detect sudden temperature changes as it is perceived as a threat to their survival. The tour guide then concluded by comparing the differences in oyster farming between Changhua/ Yunlin and Chiayi/ Tainan. The entire day has been filled with exciting activities and lively content, getting enthusiastic response from the interns. At this point, the day's itinerary came to an end. Everyone took a group photo before heading back and looked forward to the next study tour. |