Captain Agui Puts Away the Speargun and Leads Dive Groups to Clean Up Ghost Nets and Protect Coral Reef Fish

Having watched his father dive and fish since childhood, Chen Chih-kuei noticed at sea the fact that "the catch is getting worse every year," and also witnessed the undersea tragedy of abandoned fishing nets killing marine life by mistake. So he put away his speargun, switched to net-cleaning tools, and devoted himself to marine cleanup work for ten years. Now he uses his diving expertise, has changed careers to become an instructor, and leads guests on tours of the underwater scenery, promoting the idea that "keeping fish in the sea is more valuable." In 2019 (ROC year 108), he was honored as a "Model Fisherman." He also hopes that through his own experience he can inspire more fishermen to change.

The Oldest Diving Instructor, Operating Locally for Forty Years

Chen Chih-kuei, nicknamed "Captain Agui," has dark skin and laughs like a boy who has not yet lost his childishness. Warm and cheerful by nature, he is like the sun of Xiaoliuqiu, radiating energy all day long.

At eight in the morning, Captain Agui's first boat leaves the harbor. It is not for fishing, but to take diving guests out to sea. "Today we're going to take everyone to see sea turtles!" He arranges guided dive itineraries according to the students' preferences, explains the underwater terrain of the area in detail on board, and does not forget to remind everyone of the precautions for entering the water. "Some people like to see shipwrecks and fish schools, and some come specifically to take photographs. The seabed is so vast, so you first have to understand the purpose of the dive before you can arrange a suitable itinerary."

Chen Chih-kuei has been taking guests diving for 26 years. His family's dive shop holds Xiaoliuqiu's first recreational fishing boat registration and has been operating locally for nearly forty years. The shop's air tanks have grown from just over 30 at the beginning to more than 800 now. The scale is so large that during peak tourism season other dive shops even have to ask them to allocate tanks for use. "Back then, when people went to Xiaoliuqiu, they would say they wanted to find 'Turkey' for diving. 'Turkey' was my dad's nickname. Or they would say they were looking for 'Turkey's son.'"

Because diving is a high-cost entertainment, in the past only the well-off had the chance to take in the underwater scenery, and at that time Xiaoliuqiu had not yet become well known as a tourist destination, so it was common to receive only one or two customers a day. Over the decades, through word of mouth among locals and tourists, their dive shop's reputation gradually spread. But when it comes to the reason the father and son began diving, it was actually not because they saw booming tourism business opportunities.

Spearfishing Reveals the Ocean's Tragedy: Ghost Nets Are Highly Destructive

From childhood he followed his father to fish along the coast of Xiaoliuqiu. His father would put on simple scuba gear and go into the sea to catch coral reef fish. By age 13, Chen Chih-kuei had to practice piloting a bamboo raft and "follow his father's bubbles" on the surface. His father was hospitable and often entertained friends with diving. One day, on a friend's suggestion, he started a small "diving club" business. But at the time there were not many customers, so to feed the whole family they still relied mainly on fishing.

"Anyone who fishes knows that the catch here is getting worse every year!" After graduating from junior high school, Chen Chih-kuei went to the main island to look for work, then returned to his hometown at age 20 and continued to put on scuba gear and go into the sea, only to find that there might not be fish to catch: fish schools no longer came near the shore, and there were many abandoned fishing nets in the sea.

He described how nets hundreds of meters long inevitably break when being hauled in, and the remaining gear sinks directly to the seabed. Fishing nets are made of fiberglass, which does not rot or decompose easily. Some get stuck in the reefs and form a wall, threatening fish passing through. Whales, dolphins, and sea turtles are also often seen trapped and unable to move, sometimes even dying from suffocation because they cannot return to the surface to breathe.

In addition, abandoned fishing nets and ropes easily cover entire coral reefs, preventing corals from photosynthesizing and causing them to die, which in turn affects the fish and organisms that live symbiotically with the coral reefs. "If you dive often, you know that there really are many 'ghost nets' hurting innocent fish. They are visible killers in the sea!" Abandoned waste seriously threatens the living environment of marine life and also accelerates the depletion of fishery resources.

The Great Ocean Rescue Battle: Cleaning Nets Lets Corals Breathe

Seeing that the once peaceful small fishing village was facing an overfishing crisis, and that the beautiful coral reefs were being covered layer by layer by abandoned gear until they died and disappeared, Chen Chih-kuei resolved to "save his hometown himself." On every dive, in addition to salvaging plastic waste, he also brought the abandoned fishing nets piled up on the seabed back ashore. He was among the first locally to cooperate with the county government in clearing covered nets. "Because I know the underwater terrain better, I know where gear tends to get stuck, and when I take guests diving I know which areas have the most nets." With a native-born ocean character, he also carries a sense of mission toward the sea.

"Maybe we clear it today, and tomorrow there is more again. That is the most frustrating part, but we can only keep cleaning. At the beginning there really was no target, just 'clean as much as there is'!" Waiting for the benthic ecology to recover takes time, and it also depends on others working together. He said frankly that to appreciate the beauty underwater, you cannot just be a spectator; you also have to be willing to do your part for the ocean.

After about six or seven years of continuous cleanup, undersea waste finally showed signs of decreasing. At the same time, as residents' awareness of marine conservation increased, the Liuqiu Fishermen's Association took the initiative to launch an action to "prohibit the use of gill nets in Liuqiu waters." In addition, in January 2013 (ROC year 102), the Pingtung County Government announced that "the use of all types of gill nets is prohibited in waters within 3 nautical miles of the Liuqiu coast," and the Fisheries Agency subsidized a fishing boat transition plan (note), giving Xiaoliuqiu's marine environment a dawn of recovery toward its natural appearance. "The most obvious thing is that the sea turtles came back, and then tourists came in. You will find that Xiaoliuqiu has started to become different!"

Chen Chih-kuei said that Xiaoliuqiu's waters are rich in coral, attracting migratory fish schools every year. Coral reefs provide comfortable shelter and tasty algae food. When the water is murky, there is also abundant plankton for small fish to feed on. When the seawater becomes clear, a group of small fish leaves with it. Throughout the year, seasonal migratory fish species visit in every season.