Ta An Port (Pei Shan Port) was a very important port for the Chinese immigrating to Taiwan during Ming and Qing Dynasties. It had a prosperous period for Ta An Port till the end of Qian Long Emperor. Jia Qing Emperor even gave this port a new name as “Peaceful Port”. Later, a strong storm washed away the coast and large mud occupied the port. This port was then all silted up, and getting losing its shipping function. Ta An Township has declined to a small shipping village, only few fishing rafts worked sometimes. The development of Pei Shan Port was expecting a renewed integration. Mass construction and major planning were required to be performed in the area. However, there were only few researches done on the development of Pei Shan Port. It’s found that this is the most appropriate time to do an ingoing research on this area.
Pei Shan Port is located at the middle coast of western Taiwan. The tide range was very big, and the gradient of seashore was gently there. Also, the tidal flat was broad, and the sand drift was active along the coast. The breakwater was not long enough to resist the intrusion of the waves and sand drift during winters. Thus, the harbor was not stable and the channels were clogged. During fishing season, the fishermen could not take fish rafts out fishing. Typhoon season and torrential rain brought big amount of mud and waste blocking the harbor outlet and polluting the water. Furthermore, the port was not deep enough, and most facilities were getting old. The fishing rafts needed to wait for tide incoming in order to go out fishing. It was so inconvenient for fishermen and has caused great deal of loss to the local fishing economics.
Pei Shan Port has abundant sources of sediment transport from Ta An River and Ta Chia River. The growth rate of seaboard around the outlet of Ta An River at approx. 2 m/yr was the highest in this area. The average volume of sand drift was 1,241,000 m³ per year. According to the annual report of Fishery Agency, Council of Agriculture, the revenue from fishery yield at Pei Shan Port has been on the decrease in recent years. In 2005, the revenue has dropped to NT$ 115 thousand dollars. The analysis shows that volume of sand drift was negatively correlated with fishery yield. As a result, based on the above phenomenon, this study suggested that the overall improvement (expansion) of Pei Shan Port has an EBCR (economic benefit and cost ratio) of 1.48. Due to the broad benefit of social economic, it has not been able to quantify by exact methods. However, with considerations of various factors, the improvement solution is feasible.
