A marine ranch in Penghu that doesn’t raise cattle or sheep — experience fishing with a rod, oyster feasting to your heart’s content

▲ The fun fishing experience has foreign visitors thoroughly enjoying themselves.

Reporter Yu Jiayun / Photography and reporting from Penghu

At most ranches, people watch cows, feed sheep, and drink milk, but have you ever tried fishing, eating fish, and grilling oysters at a ranch? In Penghu, not only should you know how to enjoy seafood, but you should also know how to cast a fishing rod. The floating marine ranch is the perfect place for such an experience. Aside from enjoying the thrill of fishing, you can also indulge in an imperial-level feast of all-you-can-eat oysters.

Sea Palace Marine RanchIt is Penghu’s first and largest marine leisure platform. You need to take a speedboat from Makung’s Nanhai Wharf first. Since it’s located in Penghu’s inland sea, the waters are very calm with no big waves that cause seasickness, making the roughly 15-minute ride relaxing and pleasant. The marine ranch is situated in Makung’s Caiyuan sea area. It’s a platform connected to boats and pontoons, and from afar, it looks like a small island floating on the sea — truly unique.

▲ The speedboat used to reach the marine ranch.

▲ The platform floating on the sea,

After disembarking, you’ll directly step onto the rest and dining platform boat. Since there’s minimal rocking, eating on the boat isn’t an issue. Here, aside from freshly caught live fish, stir-fried squid, and fried garlic cloves, there’s also a super generous all-you-can-eat oyster buffet. Visitors simply scoop oysters from a mountain-like pile onto their seats for charcoal grilling. Enjoying fresh oysters while feeling the gentle sea breeze satisfies both body and soul.

▲ You can start grilling oysters right after disembarking.

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After eating, you can head straight to the adjacent pontoon platform, pick up a fishing rod, and start fishing. Casting the rod and feeling the immense strength of a big fish biting the bait is truly thrilling. But if you imagine yourself landing a huge catch like a child fishing prodigy, you might be a bit disappointed — since the fish here are mainly from cage farming and are intended for giving visitors a taste of the fishing experience. To avoid harming the fish, specially designed fishing rods without hooks are provided, so you basically can’t actually land any fish. However, it still allows visitors to feel the exciting struggle of battling big fish.

Fang?, a local guide in Penghu, said,There are 3–4 such tourism-oriented cage farming activities in Penghu, but due to weather influences, marine activities in Penghu usually cease around the end of October. If you want to enjoy fresh seafood and try fishing, plan your visit between March and October each year.

▲ The marine ranch has four farming areas.

▲ Bait hitting the water attracts a large school of fish.

▲ The pool mainly farms giant sea bass.

Sea Palace Marine Ranch
Boarding location: Nanhai Visitor Center
Boat schedule: 08:30, 09:00, 09:30, 11:30, 13:30, 14:00, 14:30, 16:30, 17:00
Fees: Marine ranch + BBQ (combo) — Adults: NT$700; Children: NT$500
Want to enjoy fresh seafood and try fishing? Visit during the main season from March to October each year.