臺灣「草蝦王國」的形成(1968-1988)－政府與民間扮演的角色

The Transformation of Taiwan into "the Empire of the Giant Tiger Prawn" (1968-1988): The Roles of the Government and the People

薛月順(Yueh-Shun Hsueh)

《國史館館刊》 24期 (2010/06) Pp. 139-176

https://doi.org/10.7058/TAHJ.201006.0139

摘要

臺灣自1968年草蝦苗人工培育成功，養殖草蝦的生產量節節上升，從1977年開始產量攀升至上千公噸後，1983年即生產上萬公噸，此後產量急遽增加，到1987年達到8萬多公噸的最高峰，因而有「草蝦王國」之譽。
草蝦苗與草蝦養殖技術為臺灣本地發展出來的技術革新，政府於此扮演主導者的角色；當時的水產試驗所鑒於草蝦成長快、飼料營養需求低，且對溫度、鹽度與池底等環境的變化適應力強，主張推廣養殖草蝦，但由於當時天然草蝦苗日漸缺乏，於是致力於開發人工繁殖。草蝦苗成功育成後，水產試驗所接著研究改革養殖技術，試驗草蝦單養與集約化養殖。於此過程中，民間的飼料業者與水產試驗所合作開發草蝦人工配合飼料，使企業化單養成為可能；因為當放養密度提高後，傳統的生餌料容易敗壞水質，影響草蝦的生存，如無人工飼料，集約式養殖即無法成功。而農復會於水產試驗所尋求解決技術難題之道時，除了提供經費的支援外，對於計畫的督導、人才的培訓與聘用亦扮演重要角色。
至於民間於「草蝦王國」的形成中，更展現出沛然的生命力，其重要性不遑多讓。臺灣擁有悠久的水產養殖歷史，造就了一批素質良好的從業人口，具備令人不可小覷的養殖技巧與承接新技術的能力，此一潛藏於民間的爆發力，配合政府新研發的技術，兩相結合，只要在有利可圖的前提下，即可點燃璀璨的煙火，因此臺灣漁民不僅使草蝦產量大幅增加，而且為了克服難記又拗口的學術名詞，創造一套既傳神又生動活潑的新詞彙，使得蝦苗繁殖技術傳播迅速。
而草蝦外銷日本市場的拓展，不但解決臺灣本地消費市場胃納小、極易飽和或產生供過於求的問題，同時刺激草蝦產量不斷激增。就此而言，臺灣養蝦業的發展與外銷市場的拓展，在某種程度上可說是互為因果，因為快速擴張的草蝦外銷市場，使臺灣草蝦業者朝向專業化發展，加工業應用更高層次的冷凍技術、蝦苗繁殖業者分工更加精細，凡此皆提升了臺灣水產養殖業的水準。
所以，推動臺灣成為「草蝦王國」，背後的力量為政府與民間合力完成，兩者缺一不可。此外，臺灣所具備的基礎，例如交通與電力等基礎建設優良、養蝦相關產業合作無間與幾乎不受法令限制的環境，也是產業進展快速的因素之一。

關鍵字

草蝦 ； 蝦苗 ； 農復會 ； 水產試驗所 ； 洛氏基金會

並列摘要

Since 1968, Taiwan has been very successful in the cultivation of the giant tiger prawn. The annual output of the species was on the rise, a metric ton in 1977, up to a million metric tons in 1983, and 8 million metric tons in 1987, all of which added up to the earning of the name-”the Empire of the Giant Tiger Prawn.”
The cultivation of the larvae and the breeding of the adult prawn have remained a unique technology of Taiwan. This technology was primarily attributed to the initiation by the government. The Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute then was already aware that the tiger prawn grow fast, require only very little food, and are easily adaptive to the changing environments in terms of the temperature and the amount of salt in the water. Based on these facts, the Institute started the cultivation of the prawn. In the beginning there was a lack in the larvae. So, they began to turn to artificial cultivation. When the cultivation of the larvae turned out to be successful, the Institute started developing the breeding techniques of the prawn, both individually and intensively. When the density of the prawn within a specific growing space became greater, traditional fodder was found to be not good enough for the prawn because it might easily spoil the water quality, and thus threaten the survival of the species. Therefore, the Institute in cooperation with the producers of the fodder managed to manufacture a special kind of food for the prawn, making possible the production of the species both individually and intensively. In other words, without the production of the man-made fodder, it was impossible to cultivate the species. In this matter, JCRR helped a lot in budget as well as in the execution of the program and the training of skilled staff.
The participation of people in cultivating the prawn was another factor contributing to the establishment of the Empire. With such a long history of fishery cultivation, Taiwan has achieved the training of a group of experts on the business, with needed skills and potentials for continual innovations. This explosive force, along with the endeavors of the government, has sparked off a bright and resplendent fire in prawn cultivation. Furthermore, Taiwanese fishermen have created a set of vivid and lively terms for the business in place of the often awkward and difficult scholarly terms. This certainly contributed to the spreading of the techniques of prawn cultivation.
Meanwhile, the marketing expansion to Japan not only eased the problem of limited local consumption but also greatly raised the production output. This nice cycle of market expansion and production output enabled the business to become more specialized, which was reinforced by frequent innovations in freezing techniques and in labor division. All these together helped continually to raise the standard of prawn cultivation in Taiwan during the period under study.
In sum, the success of Taiwan as the ”Empire of the Giant Tiger Prawn” could be attributed to the efforts made by both the government and the people, either was indispensable. Besides, other basic constructions such as the development of electric power and transportation were also important in the fast advancement of the business.

並列關鍵字

the giant tiger prawn ； prawn larvae ； the Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction JCRR ； The Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute ； the Rockefeller Foundation

參考文獻

〈Continuation of Study in Sprimp culture〉，《農委會檔案》，國史館藏，目錄號：518，案卷號：1388

〈Improvement of Water Supply for Sprimp culture〉，《農委會檔案》，國史館藏，目錄號：315，案卷號：1452

〈Promotion of Sprimp Farming, Demonstration of Intensive Sprimp Monoculture and Gracilaria culture〉，《農委會檔案》，國史館藏，目錄號：316，案卷號：1456

農復會工作報告。

農復會工作報告。