Small Boats on the Keelung River Dredging for Peat

This is a glimpse at how people used to dredge for coal on the Keelung River prior to 1960.
The upper portion of the Keelung River is the largest coal producing area in Taiwan, with numerous large and small coal mines. The water used in the mines to wash the coal and coal cinder would pour into the Keelung River. As the river flowed down it would reach the area by Shezi Island. The riverbed narrows here and the water flows gently down, causing the sediment to sink down. Over time, this formed a layer of peat. In an era when resources were lacking, those who lived along the riverbanks would go back and forth in small boats to dig up this layer of peat. It was called “fishing for water coal.” This peat was then turned into coal briquettes and used as fuel for cooking or sold for profit. As the coal mining industry declined, this kind of fishing became a thing of the past.