Coast Guard Administration (CGA) vessels early yesterday chased off about 100 Chinese fishing boats suspected of poaching in Taiwan’s territorial waters near Kinmen.
The agency’s Kinmen branch said that it dispatched three patrol vessels to an area where radar information showed that a fleet of about 100 Chinese boats had converged, apparently to catch yellow croaker, a small fish that usually fetches a high price this time of the year.
It is common for Chinese fishing vessels to trespass in territorial waters near Kinmen around the Mid-Autumn Festival to illegally fish for yellow croaker, Kinmen coast guard officers said.
Chinese fishermen tried to take advantage of the land and sea warnings that were issued on Sunday for Typhoon Dujuan, the officers said.
Under the rules of the Maritime Patrol Directorate-General, Chinese vessels trespassing in Taiwan’s waters are to be dispersed or detained, and detained vessels and any equipment onboard can be confiscated and their operators fined.
Coast guard officers in Kinmen said that 54 Chinese vessels have been dispersed and 31 detained in the outlying island so far this year.
They said that a total of NT$2.5 million (NT$75,093) in fines have been issued, four boats seized and 29 Chinese fishermen detained.
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