President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) recently attended a fishing festival in Lukang (鹿港), Changhua County, during which he listed all the things his government has done for the nation’s fishing industry. However, one has to ask whether fishermen are really finding it easier to make a living these days. Let us look at some figures.
When Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators were debating their fishing policies, they apparently preferred comparing the results of their polices with the results of policies used by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) when it was in office. Let us compare income levels for fishermen on the same basis to see under which government our fishermen were better off.
Official statistics show that in 2007, when president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) was in office, Taiwan’s fishing industry produced 1.5 million tonnes of fish, at a value of NT$95 billion (US$3.3 billion) respectively. In 2009, it produced 1.09 million tonnes at a value of NT$86.1 billion.
Let us now look at exports of fish products. In 2007, Taiwan exported 670,000 tonnes of fish products, worth NT$40.8 billion. These were both higher than figures for 2009, when Taiwan exported 580,000 tonnes of fish products worth NT$38.9 billion.
In addition, while Ma claims that he has taken part in 32 events related to the fishing industry, we can see from the things he says that he does not truly understand the suffering of fishermen. The Control Yuan only recently passed laws that corrected a botched Council of Agriculture policy to create a database on fish products that the council spent 10 years on and has yet to complete.
This failed plan was one of the reasons behind Taiwanese fish breeders losing their competitive advantage. Another example of botched policy is the shopping plaza that was built next to Hualien’s Recreational Wharf and which has been idle since construction began four years ago. It has earned itself a name among local residents as the most beautiful waste of money in Hualien.
Taiwan’s fishing industry is facing many problems and each requires the government’s attention. These problems include a lack of fishing resources along our coasts; Chinese fishing boats that overfish in our national waters; a great drop in the number of migratory fish; shrinking international waters and falling quotas allotted to the fishing industry; the hijacking of Taiwanese fishing boats by pirates; an increase in equipment costs; fewer companies in supporting industries; an aging workforce that has hit production volume and necessitated the use of large numbers of foreign fishermen; a deterioration in conditions on fish farms; the proliferation of pests; damage to farmed fish from extreme weather and natural disasters; slow sales and increased competition from cheap fish products from overseas.
Taiwan’s fishermen should consider carefully just who is being real and who is putting on a show. They should be sure about who is really doing things for them and then cast their votes accordingly. This is the only way they can protect their livelihood.
Du Yu is a member of the Chen-Li Task Force for Agricultural Reform.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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