The Legislative Yuan is working on legislation to ensure sustainable ocean development, Deputy Legislative Speaker Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said yesterday, as a six-month deadline for Taiwan to make changes in fishing practices to avert a potential EU ban approached.
Tsai made the comments following a meeting with European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) in Taiwan head Madeleine Majorenko, who visited the Legislative Yuan to discuss fishing practices, along with other issues such as abolition of the death penalty and bilateral trade, economic and investment agreements.
The envoy stressed the need to address the fisheries issue, after the EU issued a “yellow card” to Taiwan on Oct. 1 last year, along with a warning that Taiwan risks being identified as an uncooperative country in the fight against “illegal, unreported and unregulated” fishing and its products banned from export to the EU if it does not make improvements within six months.
Tsai said the legislature has not been informed of the specifics of a draft bill drawn by the Executive Yuan, but guarantees that Taiwan — where fishing is a mainstay of its economy — would be a responsible partner in maintaining sustainable ocean development.
The legislature would also attend to fishermen’s needs by ensuring that export channels to the EU remain open, he said, adding that both the EU’s concern and Taiwanese fishermen’s interests would be taken into account when the legislature amends the law.
Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Tsay Tzu-yaw (蔡日耀) said a “red card” would follow if the EU thinks Taiwan has not made improvements.
The ensuing trade sanctions would cost Taiwan at least NT$1 billion (US$29.9 million) a year, and other nations might follow suit and impose sanctions that would be detrimental to the nation’s deep-sea fisheries industry, whose annual output reaches NT$50 billion.
Council of Agriculture Deputy Minister James Sha (沙志一) said a bill governing deep-sea fisheries is to be sent to the Legislative Yuan next month, raising the penalty for violations to NT$30 million from the current NT$30,000 to NT$600,000.
The nation’s deep-sea fishing vessels, totaling more than 1,000, are now offloading their catch in 41 ports across countries bordering the three oceans, Sha said, but the number is to be reduced to 27, and they would be staffed with inspectors sent from or third-party agencies commissioned by Taiwan for onboard checking.
Another major amendment would require all deep-sea fishing vessels to install electronic reporting systems that transmit fisheries data, including types of fish and the amount and weight of their catch, Sha said.
About 80 percent have already installed such a system, he said.
Some fishermen have complained about having little time at sea to do the reports, but the government would continue to talk to them and urge them to cooperate, he said.
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