East Coast National Scenic Area

The Fushan Prohibited Fishing Zone is located at Shanyuan beach in Beinan township of Taitung county, at the southern end of Dulan Bay. It is Taitung’s only seawater bathing spot, early on it became known as “Shanyuan Seawater Bathing Spot”. The Fushan sea area early on was abundant in natural fishing resources, but because of over-fishing more than ten years ago, the sea area’s ecology was damaged until there was almost nothing left, with not only fisherman unable to survive but with the tourist value also decreased.
After the 2005 announcement of the Fushan Prohibited Fishing Zone it became the East Coast’s scenic spot for abundant intertidal marine ways of life, and the shoals of fish and coral reefs been preserved completely intact. At the initial stage of setting up the Prohibited Fishing Zone, the fisherman for a short while had their life inconvenienced; but along with the protection of the fishes’ habitat, the shoals of fish outside the prohibited zone were also increasing, and fisherman harvested until a level of stability was gradually reached.
After the setting up of the Fushan Prohibited Fishing Zone, apart from attracting local Taiwanese tourists, it also allowed guests from Japan, Korea, Canada and the Chinese mainland to come and look around, establishing a wave of tourists for local communities. Nowadays fish, shrimp, shellfish and other ocean organisms’ rate of reproduction is growing fast, opening up local business opportunities, with residents becoming ecological commentators and snorkeling instructors. Community residents further initiate “Protect coastal resources, perpetual development” promotion exercises such as parent and child beach treasure hunts, holiday beach-cleaning exercises, as well as ecological education. Furthermore, the Shanyuan Ocean Resources Protection Association has conducted ecological surveys on this stretch of sea area.