A proposal by the Council of Agriculture (COA) to protect coral reefs by banning the use of spearguns within 12 nautical miles (22.2km) of the nation’s coastline has outraged fishermen and Taitung County councilors, who plan to protest in front of the Taitung County Council today.
The council on March 15 published a draft amendment to the Fisheries Act (漁業法), triggering a 60-day period for public comment before the proposal is forwarded to the Legislative Yuan.
The amendment would ban the use of spearguns, which are regulated by the Ministry of the Interior, within 22.2km of the coast with the exception of spearguns registered in and used by Aboriginal communities, by the legitimate spear fishing industry and for academic research.
The Taitung County Police Bureau said there are 178 registered spearguns owned by Aborigines and 190 owned by fishermen.
The Taitung County Council on Thursday and Friday held public forums on the proposed amendment.
Many people in Taitung make a living from fishing and the central government cannot issue an order that would restrict their ability to support themselves, Taitung County Council Speaker Rao Ching-ling (饒慶鈴) said.
Fisherman Lin Yuan-chang (林源暢), who spoke at Friday’s forum, said a scuba tank’s air usually lasts for 30 to 40 minutes, and it takes about 10 minutes to catch a fish.
Given the restrictions, scuba-diving fishermen usually hunt for fish weighing more than 1kg, because smaller fish do not make the effort worthwhile, Lin said.
Taitung County councilors Hsu Chin-jung (許進榮) and Hsieh Hsien-yu (謝賢裕) have spoken out against the proposal and said they would take part in today’s protest.
“There are pros and cons to the draft amendment,” Fisheries Agency Deputy Director-General Huang Hung-yan (黃鴻燕) said yesterday. “Environmental protection campaigners are strongly opposed to the use of spearguns.”
“We have heard different opinions and will hold a public hearing in late May,” he said, adding that a date and venue have not been set.
Additional reporting by Lin Chia-nan
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai