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Across the aquafarms of coastal Tainan, fish fry traders used to rely on professional counters, who tallied the young fish with the help of a rhythmic fish-counting song. Although modern advancements have nearly wiped out the practice, in Tainan, there still one who carries on the tradition. The 87-year-old counter continues to teach young people about early life along the Tainan coast, drawing upon his wealth of experience to teach an all-but-forgotten part of Taiwan’s fishing culture.

Newly hatched milkfish fry swim around in a barrel as a fish counter uses a bowl to quickly sort and tally them. As he works, he sings the fish counting song, a tradition among the coastal villages of Tainan.

Lin Ssu-ping
Fish counter
You need good eyesight. Once you’re used to it, it becomes second nature. You can’t make a single error. For every one you’re off, you need to compensate for 10 fish.

-He’s very accurate and very fast.

-His voice flows so seamlessly. I don’t understand it, but it sounds like a folk ballad.

At 87 years old, Lin Ssu-ping is the last fish counter in Taiwan. Drawing on his lifetime of experience, he guides parents and children to try out traditional seine fishing on bamboo rafts, teaching them how to use the nets and catch fry.

Member of public
Seeing it once is better than a hundred lessons. You can remember it so much better after experiencing it yourself.

Tsai Chun-feng
Ecotourism development association chair
Fish counting used to be done manually. It required a ton of labor. They could count 100,000 to 200,000 in one morning.

Unusual for someone who couldn’t read or do math, Lin decided to pursue a living as a fish counter. His uniform: a distinctive brown apron tied around his waist.

Lin Ssu-ping
Fish counter
If you need to cross a river or a canal, your lower half will get soaked. The apron is more breathable.

These days, it’s computers that count milkfish fry, driving traditional fish counters out of a job. But this passionate octogenarian proves that although times change, there’s still space for traditions to be passed on to future generations.

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