The meretrix alias clam, pronounced as “ham-á” or “hún-giô” in Taiwanese, is a bivalve molluse under the veneroida family of the veneroida order, and an important edible shellfish. Meretrix farming has become the main source of income for fishermen in areas around Taijian National Park. The popularity of meretrix farming can be attributed to two reasons. Firstly, the aging population in rural villages and fishing villages in recent years, along with declining birth rate, has caused a large shortage of work force, which in turn leads to the gradual dissapearance of labor-intensive farming industries, e.g., the decline of milkfish farming and high-unit price grouper farming; secondly, the market price for meretrix is higher than that of other aquatic products, contributing a relatively stable income to fishermen, who in turn gradually transition to meretrix farming. According to the farming data from the Fisheries Agency, the area of meretrix farms in Tainan City was 1435 hectares in 2011; it was 3024 hectares in 2021, so it doubled in 10 years, an evidence that meretrix farming is thriving in the Tainan area.
Meretrix has become the overwhelming subject of acquatic farming along the southwest coast of Taiwan in recent years. The main production clusters are dispersed in Changhua County, Yunlin County, Chiayi County, and Tainan City. The production volume varies with seasons, typically in a decreasing order southwards. According to an interview with fishermen, the harvest period for meretrix in Tainan varies with temperature and latitude. The lack of rainfall in Tainan during autumn and winter causes the meretrix to be raised only in seawater, greatly reducing the meretrix’s growth curve, leading to a production volume and a survival rate that is significantly lower than those of Changhua or Yunlin, and thus a longer farming period during autumn and winter.
The aging population in rural and fishing villages and declining birth rates in recent years have caused meretrix harvesting to increasingly depend on machines. Machines for sorting, packaging, or harvesting grow in scale. According to the fishermen, machines save them 6~8 men for harvesting meretrix in a meretrix farm, which is roughly 2~3 tenths hectare, saving them 30~50 thousand NTD per harvest time. Meretrix farming is easy and profitable. Meanwhile, to promote the preservation of habitats for migratory birds, Taijian Administration invited the fishermen around Taijian National Park to take part in the campaign of “Ecologically Friendly Habitat Creation”.