Chien Tao, an old agar picking lady of Mount Meiyen in Gongliao said, “Agar grows on rocks at the bottom of the sea close to the shore. The first and fifteenth day of each month in the lunar calendar when tides ebb to the lowest tide mark, is the best time to pick agar because we can pick it just by standing in the shallow. Agar would be submerged in seawater on other days so we have to dive to pick it. Additionally, agar has to be picked and washed by hand. It takes at least seven sunny days, seven times of repeated washing and drying before fresh agar is made into beige dried agar and sold to merchants. The current purchase price of agar is NT$500 for every 600 grams. It seems that the big bag of fresh agar weighing 10 to 15 kilograms in my hand is worth a lot of money, but it becomes quite light after being dried.”
Agar, a kind of algae, is rich in natural gelatin, minerals and vitamins, especially zinc and iron. Besides, a pudding cup (approximately 150mL) of agar jelly is only 30 calories, so it is low-calorie, high-fiber alkaline kind of food. It is a low-calorie, nutritious, healthy, and delicious snack.
Director-General Wen Lee of Agriculture Bureau indicated that agar, a kind of algae, has the best economic value in the Northeast Coast of New Taipei City. The annual yield of agar is approximately 7 tons. To protect agar, New Taipei City Government has collected and organized opinions from experts and local fishermen and forbids picking agar with any method in three conservation areas in Wanli, Ruifang and Gongliao from October 1 to April 15 the next year. Moreover, the city government has instructed fishermen's associations of these three places to establish patrol teams to prevent any violation to make the resources of agar sustainable.
