EcoPorts – Mailiao Port

Mailiao Port – Marine Ecology

Mailiao Port has abundant underwater ecology, and 86 new species were added after summer and autumn 2023 compared with 2017. A total of 159 marine species have been identified, including 23 species of corals, 24 species of molluscs, 29 species of shrimps and crabs, 6 species of echinoderms, 71 species of fish, 2 species of sponges, and 1 species each of other species (ctenophores, annelids, mosses, and seaweeds). The stable distribution of species groups in each region shows that underwater ecology at Mailiao is maintained in good condition with diverse and abundant species.

Intertidal Zone and Land Ecology Around Mailiao Industrial Park

• Birds: Photography of migrant birds in areas around Mailiao Port is listed in the Mailiao Port Marine Ecology and Environment Photography Project. Based on records of bird distribution over the years, there is a wide variety of bird species

• Beef wood windbreak forest: Mailiao Port has the largest beef wood forestation land in Taiwan.

• Intertidal zone: Mailiao Township is by the sea and has an intertidal zone that covers about 47 km2. The continental shelf is flat and has an abundance of marine organisms, such as fiddler crabs and soldier crabs are everywhere to be seen. There are also many resident birds and migrant birds, which represent the good condition of the marine ecological environment around Mailiao Port.

Highlight case: Protecting Brown Land Crab (Xeruca formosensis)

The brown land crab (Xeruca formosensis) is an endemic species of Taiwan, but its population has decreased and even disappeared in many places in recent years. FPCC and the Research Center for Global Change Biology, National Chung Hsing University, signed a MOU on October 18, 2022 to protect this rare endemic species of Taiwan, and jointly carry out conservation and environmental protection work for brown land crab at Zhuoshui River estuary.

According to a survey by National Chung Hsing University, the population of the endemic species Xeruca formosensis at the estuary of Zhuoshui River is about 870,000, accounting for 90% of the entire population in Taiwan. Among them, there are as many as 600,000 in Mailiao on the south bank of Zhuoshui River estuary. However, the "Sparitna alternifora" and "Avicennia marina" (a type of mangrove) populations in the habitat on the south bank of Zhuoshui River are gradually expanding, posing the threat of degrading the habitat of the brown land crab.

On September 7, 2023, the Company's employees cooperated with Yunlin County Government and the Society of Wilderness, and hundreds of volunteers removed nearly 2 hectares of mangrove to maintain the habitat of the brown land crab for ecological diversity.