Representatives of Greenpeace East Asia yesterday said they would take any non-violent action necessary to protect ocean resources.
The environmental organization reiterated its determination after the Greenpeace ship Esperanza dropped anchor at Kaohsiung Port yesterday on its first visit to the nation.
The group drew media attention last year after its members climbed up the anchor chain of the Panama-registered refrigerated cargo carrier Lung Yuin to stop it from heading to the Pacific Ocean.
Photo: CNA
They accused the carrier of engaging in massive illegal fishing in 2004 and said it had a record of exploiting fishermen. The carrier denied all allegations.
The Kaohsiung Harbor Police Office was on high alert to make sure there would be no repeat of last year’s incident, but one of its officials told the Taipei Times they only did a routine inspection of the Esperanza when it arrived, as they would with any other cruise ship.
Asked if the organization was considering taking specific action, Greenpeace East Asia communications officer Renee Chou (周元韻) said the group had recorded illegal fishing activity and would report to the authorities in charge.
Whether the group would launch any non-violent action this year depends on whether it is called for, she said.
The public will have a chance to tour the ship when it anchors at Keelung Port next weekend, Chou said.
Residents in southern Taiwan can also board the ship at Kaohsiung Port on the first weekend of next month.
With the arrival of its largest ship, Greenpeace intends to send a strong message to Taiwan and other participants in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Meeting that is to be held in Guam on Monday. It urged them to review several resolutions passed in 2008 ensuring sustainable development of the fishery industry, including setting up preservation zones in international waters, banning the use of fish aggregation devices (FAD) and capping the number of tuna caught.
“If Taiwan’s Fisheries Agency is really determined to develop a sustainable fishery industry, it has to change its attitude in boycotting the establishment of a fish preservation zone and actively seek solutions to prevent the depletion of fish resources,” said Kao Yu-fen (高于棻), senior ocean campaigner of Greenpeace East Asia.
Statistics provided by the group show that 60 percent of the world’s tuna come from the central and western Pacific Ocean, and Taiwan has about 1,600 fishing boats in that area. Of the 2.5 million tonnes of tuna caught in this area in 2010, 10 percent was caught by Taiwanese boats, the group said.
In response, the Fisheries Agency said in a statement last night that it has been following the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission’s decision to continue banning the operations of seine-fishing boats in some parts of international waters, or strictly regulate their entry into these waters.
“We also support banning the use of FADs for a period of time or asking all seine-fishing boats to stop fishing for a period of time,” it said.
The agency added that Taiwan has also succeeded in reducing the number of tuna caught between 2001 and 2004 by an average of 30 percent each year.
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