Formosan Salamander: The Endemic Salmon’s Journey Home from the Ice Age — Taiwan’s Conservation Miracle from Endangerment to Watershed-Level Protection

30-second overview: Taiwan’s endemic Formosan salmon is a rare remnant of the ice age, known to the Atayal people as “Mnbang.” Once on the brink of extinction due to human development—with numbers dwindling to fewer than 200 in 1995—the species has rebounded through decades of effort by Shehpa National Park and conservationists. By combining dam removal, artificial breeding, and the innovative “dry transport of fertilized eggs” technique, the population peaked at 18,000 in 2023. Though recent years have seen fluctuations due to natural disasters, numbers have stabilized above 15,000, making it a model of watershed-level conservation in Taiwan and allowing this national treasure fish to gradually return to its historical habitat.

In the autumn of 1917, a Japanese police officer in Yilan discovered an Atayal youth selling fresh salmon—an extraordinary sight in Taiwan at the time, since salmon are cold-water migratory fish typically reserved for the Japanese aristocracy. This “salmon injustice” unexpectedly revealed the existence of a unique salmon species in Taiwan’s mountain streams, prompting the Japanese colonial government to dispatch ichthyologist Ōshima Masamitsu to investigate¹.

Ice Age Legacy: The Origin and Discovery of the Formosan Salmon

Ōshima Masamitsu confirmed the presence of cold-water salmon in Taiwan’s mountain streams and published his findings internationally. The Japanese named this precious fish “Saramao masu,” derived from the Atayal place name “Sarabao” (the old name for Lishan), now known as the Formosan salmon¹. The Formosan salmon is Taiwan’s endemic “ice age relic,” having arrived during the last glacial period tens of thousands of years ago. As the crust shifted and the climate warmed, they ceased migrating to the sea, evolving into landlocked salmon adapted to the freshwater environment of the upper Dajia River—making them the southernmost distribution of temperate salmon in the world².

In Atayal culture, the Formosan salmon is called “Mnbang” (with variant spellings such as Bunban and Nbang)³, and serves as an important food source for the tribe. Archaeological artifacts from the ancient Qilaiwan site show that over 2,000 years ago, the Formosan salmon was already a vital food source for indigenous peoples, closely tied to traditional tribal life⁴.

📝 Curator’s note: The Formosan salmon is a biological miracle and a living fossil of Taiwan’s highland culture—bridging the memory of the ice age with Atayal traditional wisdom.

Yet as time passed, this national treasure fish faced severe challenges from human activity.

On the Brink of Extinction: The Impact of Human Activity and Environmental Change

As time progressed, the Formosan salmon’s habitat came under serious threat. In the 1960s, the opening of the Central Cross-Island Highway brought unprecedented development pressure to the upper Dajia River. Mountain agriculture flourished, with orchards and vegetable gardens creeping toward the riverbanks. Pesticides and fertilizers washed into the streams, severely polluting the water. Additionally, sediment-trapping dams built for irrigation and hydroelectric power altered the natural flow of the river, blocking the salmon’s migration routes and preventing them from moving freely between river sections. This led to inbreeding and genetic homogeneity, drastically reducing survival capabilities. Within just a few kilometers of the Qilaiwan Stream, more than ten sediment-trapping dams had been constructed, severely fragmenting the fish habitat¹. Invasive species and early human practices such as poisoning and electric fishing further accelerated population decline.

By the 1980s, the Formosan salmon population had dwindled to just a few hundred individuals, surviving only in a six to seven kilometer stretch of the Qilaiwan Stream¹. By 1995, field records showed the population had dropped to fewer than 200 individuals, teetering on the edge of extinction⁵. Research by Professor Lin Hsing-chu, a distinguished professor in the Department of Life Sciences at National Chung Hsing University, found that typhoons and floods push fish downstream, but the presence of dams prevents them from swimming back upstream, leading to mass die-offs of fish unable to tolerate high water temperatures—each event wiping out roughly a third of the population⁵. During this period, conservationist Lin Yuan-lin, confronted with the devastated stream, lamented: “Saramao masu, I’m sorry.”¹

📝 Curator’s note: When a fish needs to apologize from humans, it reflects not only ecological collapse but also civilization’s debt to nature.

Rebirth from Crisis: Conservation Efforts and Key Figure Liao Lin-yen

Faced with the dire situation of the Formosan salmon, Taiwan’s conservationists launched a long and arduous recovery effort. Among them, Dr. Liao Lin-yen, director of the Wuling Management Office of Shehpa National Park—nicknamed the “Salmon Dad”—dedicated over 25 years to Formosan salmon conservation and became the key figure behind this success⁶. He collaborated with Professor Lin Hsing-chu and other scholars to promote a “watershed-level conservation” strategy, integrating habitat restoration, artificial breeding, release management, and environmental education.

The conservation team implemented several strategies, including removing sediment-trapping dams to restore the stream’s ecological corridors, allowing fish to migrate freely. In 2011, the dismantling of the Qilaiwan Stream No. 1 Dam marked a significant milestone—it was Taiwan’s first ecological dam removal, and the fish population in the Qilaiwan Stream saw a marked increase afterward⁷. The team also built sewage treatment facilities to improve water quality and promoted the “retirement of farmland and reforestation” policy. In cooperation with charitable foundations and businesses, they acquired private land around Wuling Farm and planted hundreds of thousands of trees, effectively lowering water temperatures, reducing pollution, and minimizing sediment⁵.

In terms of artificial breeding, at the end of 2003, conservationists successfully extracted sperm and eggs from artificially bred Formosan salmon for the first time, hatching over 10,000 juvenile fish—an important breakthrough in achieving full artificial propagation, ensuring the national treasure fish would not face extinction⁸. Drawing on experience gained during an internship in Hokkaido, Japan, Liao Lin-yen refined the “dry transport of fertilized eggs” technique. This method allows fertilized eggs to survive for up to 72 hours out of water. Although the actual survival rate is around 20%, the advantage is that it requires no large amounts of water—each person can carry a box (containing tens of thousands of eggs, weighing about 15 kilograms), making it suitable for hiking or reaching higher altitudes and colder, more remote streams (such as the Central Jiānshān Stream), effectively dispersing population risks to cope with climate change-induced rising temperatures and droughts⁵. In 2024, this technique was applied to new locations such as the Central Jiānshān Stream; in 2025, the first helicopter release of Formosan salmon was conducted using a specially designed fish transport box, further expanding the restoration of historical habitats⁹.

Through these relentless efforts, the Formosan salmon population gradually recovered from the 200 individuals in 1995. According to statistics from Shehpa National Park, the wild population reached a historic high of 18,630 in 2023⁵. In 2024, it slightly declined to 16,897, and the 2025 survey (released in January 2026) recorded 16,020 individuals—maintaining above 15,000 for several consecutive years¹⁰. Although recent years have seen fluctuations due to typhoons and earthquakes, conservation authorities emphasize that this is normal variation, and the overall recovery remains robust without significant decline.

📝 Curator’s note: From 200 to 18,000—the growth in numbers reflects Taiwan’s hard-won practice of rebalancing economic development with ecological conservation.

Cultural Connections and Future Prospects: The Sustainable Path of the National Treasure Fish

The Formosan salmon is not only a precious ecological asset of Taiwan but also carries rich cultural significance. In Atayal tradition, it is regarded as a gift from the stream, deeply intertwined with the tribe’s daily life and beliefs. The 1917 “salmon injustice” incident marked the moment the Formosan salmon was discovered by scholars, reflecting the deep connection between indigenous peoples and the natural environment¹.

Despite remarkable achievements in conservation, the Formosan salmon’s path to sustainability still faces challenges. The species is highly sensitive to water temperature (survival threshold around 17°C), and climate change-induced extreme weather events—such as droughts and heavy rainfall—may alter stream hydrological conditions, threatening the fish population, representing the greatest long-term challenge⁵¹¹. Additionally, the sustainability of habitat protection, invasive species, and potential impacts from human activities remain key areas for ongoing attention. Due to the complex terrain of the habitat, monitoring is difficult, and currently, snorkeling visual surveys are the primary method for population censuses¹². Shehpa National Park Administration states that future goals include establishing healthy satellite populations in more historical habitats and expanding into higher-altitude streams to resist the impacts of climate change. Starting in 2026, Shehpa National Park will deepen environmental education efforts to help the public gain a deeper understanding of this national treasure fish⁵.

The story of the Formosan salmon is a microcosm of Taiwan’s ecological conservation—from endangerment to recovery, it demonstrates the possibility of coexistence between humans and nature. Its journey home is not only the migration of the fish but also Taiwan’s shared pursuit of environmental ethics and sustainable development.

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