Nanfang'ao Inner Wharf Fishing Boats

A Working Fishing Harbor

Nanfang'ao Second Fishing Port, also known as the Inner Wharf, sits inside Su'ao Harbor on Taiwan's northeast coast. Wooden and steel-hulled trawlers pack the narrow basin gunwale to gunwale, a live view of one of the island's busiest deep-sea fishing bases.

Born From Overcrowding

The government carved this second basin between 1955 and 1959 after the original Nanfang'ao port could no longer handle the fleet during peak mackerel season — a catch so plentiful it earned the town its nickname, the "hometown of mackerel." Sand dunes and a stone embankment still separate the harbor from the open Pacific swell.

From Auction Floor to Seafood Market

Once a pure wholesale auction floor for trawl, gillnet, and longline catches, the smallest of Nanfang'ao's three ports has shifted toward retail seafood stalls, with the fish auction now a secondary trade beside the growing tourist trade.

Beside the Inner Wharf Coast

Just outside the breakwater lie Inner Wharf Beach and the striking layered rock formation of Tofu Cape, drawing visitors to this stretch of Su'ao's coastline long after the boats return to dock.