Residents of the Matsu islands on Friday voiced opposition to a proposed easing of regulations to allow fishing boats a wider area of operation near the archipelago during a meeting with the local government and Fisheries Agency officials.
The meeting — convened by agency Director-General Chen Tian-shou (陳添壽) and attended by local fishermen, residents and county councilors — was held to gauge public opinion on the proposal to ease fishing regulations in waters near Matsu.
In 2003, the agency introduced a regulation limiting Taiwanese fishing boats with Chinese crew members to operating in waters at least 12 nautical miles (22.2km) from Taiwan proper and its outlying islands.
However, in response to calls from local fishermen, that regulation was relaxed for those operating in waters near Kinmen and Matsu in 2012. As a result, Taiwanese fishing boats with Chinese crew are allowed to operate in waters 1km from the islands.
The agency is mulling whether to further reduce the distance to 50m.
However, the proposal has met with strong opposition from Matsu residents.
At the meeting, residents from Beigan (北竿), one of the two major islands in Lienchiang County, expressed concern that expanding the area in which fishing boats are allowed to operate would deplete fishing resources and have a detrimental impact on the local ecosystem.
Fishing resources in the area have already decreased considerably, because many fishing boats ignore the regulation and fish in waters within 1km of the islands.
Lienchiang County Councilor Chou Jui-kuo (周瑞國) also voiced opposition to the proposal, calling on law enforcement authorities to step up patrols to combat illegal fishing.
Chen said that environmental protection and fishermen’s rights would be taken into account before a final decision is made.
The agency will continue its efforts to evaluate whether it would be beneficial to ease existing regulations, he added.
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