The Art of Stone Weirs: Preserving Penghu Island Traditions 

REPORTER: 

Here in the Penghu Islands in the middle of the Taiwan Strait, there’s a long tradition of carefully stacking heavy stones like these in the sea to form fish traps. Called stone weirs, the tides carry fish into them—ready for the islanders to catch. They’re tough to build, but good at what they do—taking the hassle out of getting fish from the sea. 

Wu Wen-ching (WEIR REPAIR TRAINEE):   

Basalt rocks are heavy. But it’s very clever. They carry out lots of big stones when the tide is high. 

REPORTER: 

But while they’re an important part of the islands’ culture, and some even attract tourists, many have been left to fall apart as modern fishing fleets make them obsolete and young people leave Penghu for school and work on the main island of Taiwan. 

REPORTER: 

But a group of young people in Penghu have decided to turn this trend around with their own hands. They’ve set up a training program that teaches people how to maintain these stone enclosures, a cultural preservation project. 

Yang Fu-tzu (HUNG-LO NEIGHBORHOOD DEVELOPMENT ASSOC.):   

As long as trainees keep up the work the labor force needed [for maintenance] will keep moving around. I’d like to see when this stage [in our project] becomes reality. But they need a lot of time, different methods and resources to make this happen 

REPORTER: 

It’s a tough battle keeping all the islands’ many weirs in shape, but this group of locals are determined to keep the knowledge of how to do it alive. 

Devin Tsai, John Van Trieste, and Eric Gau for TaiwanPlus