When the autumn wind blows, crabs grow plump; Wanli crabs have arrived

Time flies, and next week is the Mid-Autumn Festival!? Around the Mid-Autumn Festival is the transition period between Taiwan's southwest monsoon and northeast monsoon, with great weather changes, but it is also the season when Wanli crabs are at their plumpest and most delicious. Crab-catching fishermen are watching the sea conditions one after another, thinking longingly of the fishing grounds in the northwestern waters. As soon as the sea conditions allow, they hurry out to sea and bring the freshest, liveliest, most vigorous Wanli crabs into port, so the public can buy the first catch of Wanli crabs in early autumn!!

When the autumn wind blows, crabs grow plump; three-spot crabs and stone crabs arrive

"Wanli crabs," a nationally famous sea crab brand, are formed by a trio of stars: "three-spot crab," "flower crab," and "stone crab." Fishermen from Guihou, Yehliu, and Wanli fishing ports in Wanli District and Fuji Fishing Port in Shimen District head out to sea toward the waters northwest of Cape Fugui, the northernmost point of Taiwan, string round cages together, and drop them into the sea. Attracted by bait in the cages, the Wanli crabs enter the trap, and the cages are pulled up together with the crabs. A single voyage takes 3-4 days. Crabs caught by this trapping method have intact appearances and good quality, making this an ultra-high-quality sea crab brand that gourmets in the fish market favor most.

"Autumn crabs," as the name suggests, are a seasonal food that must be tasted in autumn. After a year without tasting crab and drinking wine, one always feels that something is missing from autumn. Autumn is the plumpest and most delicious moment for Wanli crabs before they spawn. Wanli crabs constantly eat throughout the year to increase energy and nutrients precisely in order to mate and spawn. Therefore, before Wanli crabs spawn, their meat and their crab roe and crab paste are at their richest and fullest of the year, making it an excellent time to savor them, and they enjoy the reputation that "in Taiwan, you simply must eat Wanli crabs."

Chang Li-chen, director of the Fisheries Department, said that since the Wanli crab brand was founded in 2012, it has successfully boosted the economic prosperity of fishermen and fishing port villages. In order to sustain the Wanli crab fishery, in addition to regulations such as the central government's 2014 announcement restricting the fishing ban period for egg-bearing female crabs (8/16-11/15 is the fishing ban period for egg-bearing female crabs) and size limits, the New Taipei City Government, soon after creating the brand, actively provided guidance and inspections so that crab fishermen do not catch egg-bearing female crabs or crabs that are too small, and also hopes fishermen can truly implement this and the public can avoid consuming these crabs, allowing this fishery product brand "Wanli crabs" to operate sustainably.