Taiwan will ban fishing of whale sharks, the largest living fish species, starting next year, the Fisheries Administration under the Council of Agriculture (COA) announced on Friday.
Fisheries Administration Director Hsieh Ta-wen (謝大文) said the year's quota of 30 whale sharks was reached on March 27 and that no more fishing would be allowed from March 27 until December 31.
Any stockpiled whale shark meat must be sold within three months, meaning that from June 27, no more selling of whale shark meat will be allowed.
Starting from next year, the fishing, selling, importing and exporting of whale sharks will be banned completely, he said.
The whale shark, the gentle giant of the ocean, is found in tropical oceans and lives in the open sea. The species is called the "tofu shark" locally because its delicate meat is purported to taste like tofu.
The shark, believed to have originated about 60 million years ago, can grow up to 20m in length and can weigh up to 30 tonnes. It is considered a delicacy in many Southeast Asian countries.
Hsieh said 12 out of this year's 30 whale sharks were caught in fixed nets and were released. The Fisheries Administration has also presented NT$3.47 million (US$104,000) in cash to fishermen for their cooperation in releasing the fish.
The released sharks were fitted with satellite tracking devices to help monitor their migration routes and provide more information about their ecology.
If more whale sharks are accidentally trapped in the fixed nets, Hsieh instructed fishermen to report the catch immediately and apply for a cash reward for not killing them. Such sharks will also be fitted with satellite tracking devices.
Fisheries officials also noted that two whale sharks accidentally caught off Hualien will be sent to an aquarium in the state of Georgia in the US early next month for educational, research and display purposes.
The aquarium purchased two whale sharks from Taiwan in 2005 and last year, but one of them died earlier this year of peritonitis.
Meanwhile, fishermen in three counties who mainly fish for whale sharks were disgruntled about the government ban, disputing expert opinion that the great fish is on the brink of extinction and complaining that a complete ban would jeopardize their livelihoods.
They said that the annual quota has continued to dwindle from 80 in the past to 60 last year and 30 this year in the face of global outrage over the continuing fishing of the endangered species.
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if the next president of that country decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said today. “We would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said during a legislative hearing. At the same time, Taiwan is paying close attention to the Central American region as a whole, in the wake of a visit there earlier this year by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Lin said. Rubio visited Panama, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Guatemala, during which he
RSS