The Council of Agriculture (COA) has tightened marine fishing regulations in the hope of having the nation removed from a European Commission warning list by October, COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said yesterday.
The commission gave Taiwan a “yellow card” warning in October 2015, citing insufficient efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities, Chen told a news conference in Taipei.
In accordance with the commission’s advice, the council has improved its legal framework with the passing of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries (遠洋漁業條例) last year, as well as amendments to the Fisheries Act (漁業法) and the Act to Govern Investment in the Operation of Foreign Flag Fishing Vessels (投資經營非我國籍漁船管理條例), he said.
Since the new regulations came into force this year, the Fisheries Agency has issued 24 fines ranging from NT$500,000 to NT$4 million (US$16,492 to US$131,939), Deep Sea Fisheries Division Director Lin Ting-jung (林頂榮) said.
“The council was heart-wrenched to see fishermen receive such heavy fines,” Chen said, holding back tears. “The council hopes the nation can be removed from the warning list by October. Otherwise, the nation’s marine fishing industry faces even greater damage.”
Taiwan Tuna Longline Association secretary-general Ho Shih-chieh (何世杰), of Pingtung County’s Donggang Township (東港), said he appreciated the council’s efforts, but expressed hope that officials would show older and less informed fishermen more flexibility.
One older fisherman, who has struggled after his son was killed by an Indonesian fisherman, was fined NT$1 million because his unloading report to the agency was a day late, Ho said.
“Most ship owners are in their 50s or 60s. They have a limited ability to receive or adapt to new information, especially when they are at sea,” Ho said. “We hope the council can provide more training for fishermen, who mostly comply with the law.”
Chen said the older fisherman could file an administrative appeal if he feels the agency’s punishment is unreasonable.
“However, we have to emphasize the importance of unloading reports. If a fisherman’s reports are incorrect, so are all official statistics [for the fishing sector],” Chen said, adding that the council can provide help.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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