台湾石斑鱼进入大陆市场 Taiwan caters to China’s appetite for giant fish

Choosing your own dinner from a large fish tank is a central attraction of Hong Kong’s famous seafood restaurants.

从一个大水族箱中挑选自己的盘中餐，是香港那些著名海鲜酒楼最吸引人之处。

As the rest of China grows increasingly enamoured with Cantonese cuisine, a Taiwanese company is hoping to cash in, with a boost from a landmark trade deal between Taiwan and China.

随着粤菜在中国其它地区也越来越受喜爱，一家台湾公司正希望借助海峡两岸一项具有里程碑意义的贸易协议，从中大赚一笔。

The most valuable fish from Long Diann Marine Bio Technology’s aquaculture farms in the Taiwanese seaside town of Fangliao is unlikely to be found in any restaurant tank. The giant grouper, whose steamed flesh is the most prized among Hong Kong gastronomes, can reach 2.5 metres long and weigh 600 kilos.

龙佃海洋生物科技有限公司(Long Diann Marine Bio Technology)的水产养殖场位于台湾海滨小镇枋寮。这里最名贵的鱼——鞍带石斑鱼——在任何一家餐馆的水族箱都不太可能看到。这种鱼身长可达 2.5米，重达600公斤。清蒸鞍带石斑是最受香港美食家热捧的菜肴。

Tai Kun-tsai, the owner of Long Diann, was the first in the world to reliably breed the huge fish for farming. Mr Tai, who keeps two 150kg pet grouper in a tank in his living room, has since emerged as Taiwan's biggest grouper farmer.

龙佃公司所有者戴昆财是世界人工养殖巨型鱼类第一人。戴昆财目前是台湾最大的石斑鱼养殖户，在他起居室的水族箱里就养了两条150公斤重的石斑幼鱼。

Partly because of Mr Tai’s technology, Taiwan has emerged as the world’s only significant exporter of farmed giant grouper. Other countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand ship wild giant grouper caught from the sea.

台湾是全球唯一大批量出口养殖鞍带石斑的地区，这在一定程度上要归功于戴昆财的技术。马来西亚、印度尼西亚和泰国等其它国家出口的都从海中捕捞的野生鞍带石斑。

Almost all of Mr Tai’s T$200m ($6.3m) sales last year were to Hong Kong, the world’s biggest market for grouper. Over the past year, however, Mr Tai has seen demand surge from mainland Chinese cities such as Shanghai and Beijing. Prices for farmed giant grouper have almost doubled from T$280 a kilo a year ago to T$480 ($15).

戴昆财去年的销售额达2亿新台币（合630万美元），几乎全部销往香港这个全球第一大石斑鱼市场。但过去的一年里，来自上海和北京等中国大陆城市的需求出现了大幅增长。养殖鞍带石斑的售价几乎翻了一番，从1年前的每公斤280元新台币涨到480元新台币（合15美元）。

“The surge in demand and the rise in prices for grouper over the past year was the biggest I have seen since I began this business more than 20 years ago,” Mr Tai says.

“过去一年石斑鱼需求和价格的上涨幅度，是我入这行20多年来最大的，”戴昆财表示。

China’s growing appetite stands to make Mr Tai and Fangliao’s other grouper farmers significant beneficiaries of the Economic Co-operation Framework Agreement, the first formal trade deal between rivals Taiwan and China. China considers Taiwan part of its territory even though the island has been ruled as a de facto independent state since 1949.

中国大陆需求日渐旺盛，让戴昆财和枋寮其他石斑鱼养殖户成为《海峡两岸经济合作框架协议》(ECFA)的明显受益人。该协议是相互竞争的海峡两岸签订的首份正式贸易协议。中国大陆将台湾视为自己领土的一部分，尽管自1949年以来，该岛一直处于事实上的独立状态。

Besides eliminating the current 13 per cent Chinese tariff on live fish, the deal, which came into affect this month, will see Beijing remove tariffs on more than 500 products from Taiwan to the benefit of the island’s bicycle, petrochemicals and machinery industries.

根据已于本月生效的该协议，北京方面除了撤销目前对活鱼征收的13%的关税，还将取消对台湾500多种产品的进口关税。此举将使台湾自行车、制药和机械行业受益。

“The growth of the mainland Chinese market has really just begun,” Mr Tai said. “We expect the greater China market to grow by 20 per cent every year.”

“大陆市场的增长真的才刚刚起步，”戴昆财表示。“我们预计，整个大中华市场每年会增长20%。”

Mr Tai’s efforts are backed by the government, which is promoting grouper as a new national export. James Sha, director-general of Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency, says grouper avoid direct competition with China, whose coastal areas become too cold for the species during the winter. “There are very few grouper farmers in China,” he said. “They mostly focus on freshwater fish.”

戴昆财的努力得到了台湾政府的支持。台湾政府正努力将石斑鱼推广为新的民族出口产业。 台湾渔业署(Fisheries Agency)署长沙志一(James Sha)表示，石斑鱼养殖不会与中国大陆形成直接竞争——大陆海域冬季温度过低，不适宜该鱼种生存。“中国大陆养殖石斑鱼的人非常少，”沙志一表示。“他 们主要在养殖淡水鱼。”

Mr Sha says the recent trade deal opens the door for grouper farmers, typically small family businesses, to develop into bigger companies by entering new markets such as supplying frozen fish to inland Chinese provinces.

沙志一表示，这份贸易协议让石斑鱼养殖户（通常为小型家族企业）得以进入新市场，例如为大陆省份提供冷冻鱼，从而有机会发展成为大中型企业。

译者/何黎