A photo exhibition about fishermen and various traditional fishing methods around the world, organized by Greenpeace, is being held at Greater Kaohsiung’s Pier 2 Arts Center (高雄駁二藝術特區).
The free exhibition displays 63 photographs of fishermen working and living, taken in Taiwan, Thailand, Indonesia, Costa Rica and Philippines, among other places.
Greenpeace Taiwan campaigner Yen Ning (顏寧) said the exhibition not only allows visitors to understand the hard work of the fishermen, but that it could also inspire them to think about how ocean resources are increasingly being overexploited by industrialized mass-scale fishing methods.
According to a report by the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization, approximately 85 percent of the world’s fish stocks are either fully exploited, overexploited or depleted, Greenpeace Taiwan said, adding that fish stocks off Taiwan have been reduced by 70 percent in the past 30 years.
For the exhibition, Greenpeace also traveled to Green Island (綠島) to take photos of a unique traditional tuna fishing method (鰹竿釣), in which fishermen use poles to catch a tuna at a time, a technique which is considered more environmentally friendly because they do not catch juvenile fish or non-target species.
Mass-scale fishing methods have caused many marine species, such as sea turtles and dolphins to be unintentionally caught, destroying the balance of marine ecology, it said.
“However, some sustainable fishing methods, such as the tuna fishing method on Green Island and the method of harpooning swordfish, are facing challenges as fish stock continue to drop and they may become lost skills,” Yen said.
The exhibition runs until Sunday and a documentary about the Taiwanese fishermen is scheduled to be screened on Sunday afternoon.
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