Milkfish, Chanos chanos, is one of the major inland cultured fish species in Taiwan. Variations in land resources and climate have led to the application of two distinct culture practices of milkfish polycultures with white shrimp, Penaeus indicus. This study applies a translog cost function model to analyze the production scale economy and input demand price elasticity of four milkfish polyculture systems with two different culture periods (OWC and NOWC) and two different white shrimp–milkfish fry stocking ratios (low SMR: 10–55 fry/ha; high SMR: 56–100 fry/ha). The findings show that the four milkfish polyculture systems require different operational adjustments to increase production while reducing the average culture cost. More specifically, overwinter cultures (OWC) have economies of scale. Farmers may reduce the average cost by expanding the production scale. Non-overwinter polycultures (NOWC) with high SMR are at the stage of decreasing return to scale, meaning that gains in output of milkfish cannot reduce the average cost. In terms of input factor use, farmers of OWC systems with high SMR are sensitive to fluctuations in the fry price since fry constitutes the input factor exhibiting the highest own-price elasticity. Moreover, fry and feed of OWC households with high SMR have high levels of substitutability, whereas fry and other input exhibit substitutability in OWC systems with low SMR. In NOWC farming households with high SMR, fry and capital have substitutability. It is thus recommended to modify the input factor use according to the culture mode and the white shrimp–milkfish stocking density ratio. Moreover, the study found that NOWCs have considerably higher SMR than OWCs, which may lead to a deterioration of the water quality in NOWC fishponds and lower survival rates. It is thus recommended to reduce the SMR to 31:1 to achieve economies of scale in production and increase the survival rate of milkfish and white shrimp.
Outlying islands are affected by the environment and economy, and fishery resources are the first to experience these impacts. Therefore, it is necessary to actively and effectively transform traditional fisheries in outlying islands. This is the case in Penghu County (Penghu Islands), located on the outlying islands of Taiwan. The transformation to recreational fishery can increase the additional income of traditional fisheries during the fishing moratorium through the development of recreational fishery boats by fishermen. Recreational fishery means the fishery using fishing vessels for recreational purposes or for passengers to harvest aquatic organisms on the reef or to engage in sightseeing on the islets. Therefore, this study will explore the key factors for the successful route planning of fishermen who switch to recreational fishery boats to assist the fishermen in successfully transitioning and enabling recreational fishery to flourish. In the research, using the method of the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) expert questionnaire, it was found that the key factors affecting the route planning of recreational fishery boats are “boat conditions”, “berthing conditions”, “operating environment”, and “sightseeing potential”. After the expert questionnaire, a weight comparison of each level was performed, and it was found that “operating environment” was the most important factor, followed by “tourism potential”. However, the key factors of the “natural environment” and “cultural environment” are more important under the influence of the “operating environment”. Under the influence of “tourism potential”, “attractiveness” is a key factor, as is the “accessibility” factor. In this study, the four main fishing ports in Penghu County were also used for empirical discussion. The study results showed that Magong Fishing Port was the first choice for transformation, followed by Chikan Fishing Port. The results of this study can be used as a reference for fishermen and officials in developing a subsidy scheme for fishing boat operation, and they can be used as a reference for transforming traditional fisheries in outlying islands into recreational fishing to develop recreational fishery boats and leisure tourism industries. This research can help fishermen to attach importance to the development of recreational fishing activities and promote the stable growth of the fishery industry environment.
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