Fishing disputes between the Philippines and Taiwan surfaced again yesterday after the Cabinet-level Fisheries Agency announced that a Taiwanese fisherman would return in a few days following a year in detention in the Philippines.
Huang Chi-huang (
Huang was acquitted of the illegal fishing charge on Tuesday. Wu Hsin-hsing (
Chen Li-hua (
"I will not say anything until he is back," Chen said.
The Fisheries Agency urged fishermen not to enter Philippine waters because the country has banned all foreign fishing boats from operating in its waters since 1998.
However, Liuchiu Fishermen's Association in Pingtung, where Huang's boat was registered, said it was difficult to avoid entering Philippine waters.
The 200-nautical-mile (370-km) economic zones of Taiwan and the Philippines overlap in the Bashi Channel.
"Since our government and the Philippines have not established a cooperation mechanism about fishing, our fishermen have no choice but to agree a semi-cooperative deal with their brokers in the Philippines," an association official said.
The brokers, many of them immigrants from Taiwan, colluded with Philippine officials to forge fishing licences to sell to the fishermen, according to the official.
"The purchase of the false credentials is prevalent among fishermen," the official said.
The Fisheries Agency's Deep Sea Fisheries Division acknowledged the existence of the illegal fishing and asked fishermen not to be deceived by the brokers.
What enticed many Taiwanese fishermen to illegally fish in Philippine waters is the highly profitable bluefin tuna, which abounds in the Bashi Channel, a division official said on condition of anonymity.
In Taipei restaurants, a slice of bluefin tuna could sell for as much as NT$300.
"Some say catching a bluefin tuna is like earning a luxury car," the official said.
The Fisheries Agency said in a statement that nine Taiwanese fishing boats detained by Philippine authorities over the past two years all held counterfeit fishing credentials.
Since April last year, the Philippines detained five Pingtung-registered fishing boats. Since May this year, four Kaohsiung-registered fishing boats have been detained.
Six of the nine boats escaped during a typhoon that hit the Philippines at the end of July and returned to Taiwan.
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