The government needs to implement better fishing resource management policies to replenish the nation’s dwindling stock of Pacific bluefin tuna over the age of three, whose numbers have fallen to near record lows, Greenpeace East Asia said on Tuesday.
So far this year, the number of bluefin tuna caught by local fishing vessels has risen to 385 as of Monday, an annual increase of 68 percent from the 229 fish caught in the same period last year, the Fisheries Agency said in a statement.
In response to the agency’s statement, the conservation group urged the public and the government to be more aware of the diminishing population of the prized fish.
Photo: Yeh Yung-chien, Taipei Times
The agency attributed the rise in domestic catches of bluefin tuna to efforts to reduce fisheries disputes with other countries.
The nation’s fishermen adhere to international fishing standards and employ sustainable methods, the agency added.
A fisheries pact signed with Japan in April last year gave Taiwanese fishermen an additional 4,530km2 of marine territory in which to operate free of intervention by the Japanese authorities, the agency said, adding that the government is negotiating a similar pact with the Philippines to reduce potential maritime disputes, which will also likely increase the number of fish caught.
“Taiwan’s rising number of catches could be due to the expansion of fishing territory provided by the pact with Japan, but we still cannot deny that the Pacific bluefin tuna population is being depeleted,” Greenpeace East Asia oceans campaigner Yen Ning (顏寧) told reporters.
Taiwan should promote a proposal committing fishing countries such as Japan, Mexico and South Korea to raise the current 15 percent reduction in catches of tuna that are three years old or younger to 50 percent, Yen added.
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