Tourism, oyster farming hit by loss of Chiayi sandbar｜Taiwan News

Waisanding Sandbar is a popular tourist destination in Chiayi that is accessed only by boat. But the formation is quickly disappearing. Only a small portion of it remains, and there’s a concern it’ll wash away entirely. Tourists worried they will soon no longer be able to see it are seizing their last chance, while oyster farmers are also worried about its loss.

Waisanding Sandbar is a popular tourist destination in Chiayi. It used to attract scores of visitors. But now it’s quickly washing away, and might disappear entirely soon.

Visitor
There might not be a sandbar here at some point. The floating part might be gone, so if we didn’t come now it would be a shame.

Visitor
From Yunlin we used to sail over to this 2-to-3,000 hectare place. But now at low tide there’s only 50 hectares left.

Chen Chin-ming
Chiayi Seaside Tourism Development Association
We used to have 20 boats for tourists, but now there’s only 10. Since the sandbar is washing away, people aren’t as willing to come here anymore.

The loss of Waisanding Sandbar is affecting the tourism industry, but if it keeps getting smaller, oyster farmers would bear the brunt of its loss.

Early in the morning, oyster farmers take their rafts out to harvest. Elsewhere, workers open them up one by one to extract the fresh meat. The farmers are deeply worried about the loss of the sandbar.

Oyster farmer
If it’s submerged, our industry won’t be able to survive and there won’t be any oysters to eat.

The tourism industry is clearly affected by the loss of Waisanding Sandbar, but if it doesn’t get better soon, the local oyster business will be decimated as well.

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