"It's just unfortunate that several years ago lime mining caused some pollution," says current association director Tsai Shih-ming, pointing to gray accumulations under outcropping of rocks. It used to be possible to catch kooye minnows that were 15 centimeters long here; now there are none at all. Although mining upstream has already been banned, it will require some time before the river returns to its original state.
「可惜，前幾年因為上游開採石灰，受到污染，」碧候社區發展協會新任總幹事蔡世明指著岩石下沉積的灰色泥巴說，以前可以釣到十五公分長的苦花魚，現在都沒了，如今雖然上游已經停止開採，但北溪要恢復原來的面貌，還要一段時間。