On Oct. 1 last year, the EU announced that “Taiwan ... risks being identified as [an] uncooperative country in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing,” and said that “if the shortcomings are not addressed within six months, the EU could consider trade sanctions on fisheries imports.”
This announcement makes it clear that the EU does not trust Taiwan’s management of its ocean fishing industry. Taiwan has been criticized by other nations and international fisheries organizations for many years for not properly managing its fishing industry, which paid a heavy price in 2004, as international fisheries organizations made huge cuts in Taiwan’s bigeye tuna quotas and the number of fishing boats it was allowed in the Atlantic Ocean.
At the time, the crisis posed a severe threat to the nation’s industrial and official sectors, forcing the fisheries management authorities to create new legislation and implement more comprehensive management measures.
More than 10 years later, the EU has now issued a “yellow card” as a reminder that the nation’s fisheries management continues to be problematic.
There are three basic fisheries management models: government, free market and participatory.
Free-market management states that supply and demand should be the decisive factor in the behavior of operators. The success of this model depends on a complete certification system for fish products that consumers can recognize and only be willing to buy legally caught fish.
Participatory management is based on self-discipline among operators who follow management regulations that are set by the operators themselves or through negotiations between operators and government agencies. The success of this model depends on mutual trust between operators that they follow regulations.
As there is no certification system for fish caught by Taiwan’s ocean fishing operators and because ocean fishing is a competitive industry, it is difficult to implement these two models and manage them efficiently. This is why the government management model — the top-down model — is the most feasible one. This model is frequently used in international fisheries organizations and national management.
However, according to Becker’s economic model of crime, whether or not operators abide by regulations depends on the cost and benefits of doing so. This model highlights the problem in Taiwan’s ocean fisheries management. Penalties for fishing boats violating legal regulations are too lenient, while profits are high, and considering the difficulty of effectively enforcing the law for fishing boats out at sea, it should not come as a surprise if operators make a rational decision on whether to violate the law based on economic considerations.
If the nation’s ocean fishing industry is to be prevented from repeating its mistakes, fines for violating the law must be high enough, law enforcement effective enough and conviction rates high enough to stop them from doing so.
This involves amending fishery-related laws and regulations, and improving law enforcement. If, in addition, market measures are implemented and operators’ ethical preparedness, self-discipline and willingness to follow laws and regulations are improved, Taiwan should be able to move away from illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, and become a responsible fishing nation.
Chen Chung-ling is an associate professor in the Institute of Ocean Technology and Marine Affairs at National Cheng Kung University.
Translated by Perry Svensson
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