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CGA may buy new ships

The Coast Guard Administration is planning to spend between NT$1 billion and NT$2 billion to build the nation's first advanced multirole rescue ship and another ship designed to clean up oil spills, a Cabinet official said yesterday.

The Cabinet hopes to give the three-year plan the go-ahead by May or June.

"We're mapping out detailed plans about the projects, and hope to award the contract to the lowest bidder by next year to build the boats between 2006 and 2007," the official said.

According to the official, the administration currently has one 55-tonne ship, which was converted to clean oil spills.

The administration plans to build a 600-tonne ship to join the operation.

The administration is also planning to build a 2,000-tonne advanced multirole rescue ship, capable of search-and-rescue, firefighting and salvage operations.

Although oil spills fall under the jurisdiction of the Environmental Protection Administration and rescue efforts are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, the two agencies are not equipped with any ships to carry out the duties.

In addition to the two ships, the administration is also planning to build a 3,000-tonne blue-water fishery cutter to replace three 500-tonne blue-water fishery cutters, which are over 10 years old.

In a bid to help the nation's booming blue-water fishing industry, the official said that the government is obliged to fulfill the legal requirements of international fishing conventions as well as the membership duties of international fishing commissions.

Ranking second worldwide in the size of its tuna catch and third in the size of its squid catch, Taiwan is a commission member of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention (WCPFC) and a cooperating non-member of the Convention on the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna (CCSBT).

The western and central Pacific Ocean produces more than half of the world's annual tuna catch, with an annual landed value of between US$1.5 billion and US$2 billion.

Although the stocks of tuna in the area are not currently considered overfished, the WCPFC establishes conservation and management measures to be adhered to by all countries and fishing entities with vessels operating in the region.

To ensure the conservation and optimum utilization of the southern blue-fin tuna fishery, the CCSBT sets a total allowable catch and decides how the catch is allocated among members.

The main nations fishing for southern blue-fin tuna, Australia, Japan and New Zealand, apply strict quotas to their fishing fleets.

The principal non-member nations are South Korea, Indonesia and Taiwan. Cooperating non-members participate fully in the business of the CCSBT but cannot vote.

A cooperating non-member requires adherence to the management and conservation objectives of the CCSBT and agrees to catch limits.
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