Six Coast Guard vessels embarked on a patrol of the Taiwan Strait yesterday following the launch of a new campaign to crack down on Chinese fishing boats illegally straying into Taiwan’s side of the Strait to fish.
It marked the beginning of growing efforts by the Coastal Patrol Directorate General (CPDG) to raid intruding Chinese fishing boats — a problem that has been amplified after China lifted its 30-month ban on fishing in the strait on Saturday.
Now that the ban has been lifted, Chinese fishing vessels are expected to stray into Taiwan-controlled waters, CPDG Deputy General Director Lin Hsing-heng (林星亨) said at a ceremony in Makung City, Penghu County, to mark the launch of the patrols yesterday.
The Taiwanese Coast Guard has already identified many Chinese boats that entered waters close to the Penghu archipelago on Tuesday.
They were engaging in “wanton fishing,” Lin said.
DEADLY NETS
Lin said that many Chinese fishing boats spotted in the past used dangerous drift gill nets, trinal nets — which have three parts — and rolling-wheel nets.
This fishing techniques damage marine ecology and deplete marine resources, Lin said.
After the ceremony, six Coast Guard patrol boats left Makung Harbor to hunt for Chinese fishing boats.
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