After Taiwanese fishing vessel Shun de Qing No. 888 was caught illegally fishing on Oct. 1, 2015, the European Commission issued a “yellow card” to the Taiwanese fishing industry and declared Taiwan an uncooperative nation in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Taiwan was facing the possibility of being handed a “red card,” which would have been catastrophic for its fishing industry.
When the commission issued the yellow card it demanded that Taiwan make 11 improvements to its deep-sea fleet in the next six months or face being blacklisted.
When the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) was defeated in the 2016 presidential election, the outgoing Cabinet left behind a bill of proposed amendments which was, frankly, a mess. Worse still, the legislative process surrounding the bill was opaque, so it was unable to garner support within the legislature.
After President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office, to avoid losing NT$40 billion (US$1.29 billion) of deep-sea fishing industry output as a result of the KMT’s mishandling, she made it a priority to push through amendments to the Act for Distant Water Fisheries (遠洋漁業條例), the Act to Govern Investment in the Operation of Foreign Flag Fishing Vessels (投資經營非我國籍漁船管理條例) and the Fisheries Act (漁業法).
The government also set a deadline of July 2016 to complete the amendments, and fast-tracked the delivery of the details of specific measures taken by the government to the commission for review, thereby obtaining a temporary reprieve from escalation to a red card.
However, to remove the yellow card, the government needed to ensure that the law was being enforced.
In August 2017, the Fisheries Agency issued 24 fines totaling NT$18.2 million. Many fishers protested, some having been fined NT$1.3 million for neglecting to submit paperwork. Some senior fishers, who were not used to using a computer to report required information through an online portal, became caught up in the clampdown.
On the eve of the local election in November last year, 130 fines had been handed out, totaling NT$120 million. KMT organizations and politicians fanned the flames of anger so that large numbers of fishers — traditionally pan-green supporters — took to the streets. This forced the government to make further amendments to the three main deep-sea fishing laws, causing further damage to the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) electoral chances.
DPP lawmakers representing fishing communities were put under enormous pressure. As discussions between the Fisheries Agency and the commission rumbled on, the DPP had to ensure it cooperated in all the required areas, but also stood its ground when needed, in addition to talking and listening to the concerns of fishers.
The DPP had to quietly accept the uncompromising attitude and deep disappointment of the fishers so that it could modernize Taiwan’s fishing industry and set it on the right track. The government realized it had to deliver this difficult, but vital reform.
After three years of pain, commission officials visited Taiwan for negotiations and to inspect the enforcement of the amended laws. Following 16 separate meetings, the commission finally lifted the yellow card.
Now that this long and arduous process is behind, Taiwanese fishers can set sail into international waters with their heads held high. Nobody feels happier about this than myself, a legislative representative of a fishing community. The achievement is not just a victory for government reform, it is also a demonstration of the resolution and willpower of the nation’s fishing industry, which realized it had to bring itself up to world standards.
Chuang Ruei-hsiung is a Democratic Progressive Party legislator.
Translated by Edward Jones
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