Eighteen Chinese fishers were yesterday charged with allegedly catching eel in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) last week after they were apprehended by a joint Coast Guard Administration and Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office task force.
The crew have been charged with breaching the Immigration Act (入出國及移民法) and the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例).
The prosecutors’ office said that it had received a report regarding illegal nighttime fishing near the Pratas Islands from a coast guard patrol team.
Photo copied by Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
At 11pm on Friday, a CGA operation, lead by Chief Prosecutor Hsu Hung-ju (徐弘儒) and prosecutor Hsieh Chang-hsia (謝長夏), spotted the Jinghai 0109309 about 9 nautical miles (16.7km) northeast of the Pratas Islands, the office said.
The Chinese boat was was fishing illegally, but with the help of the Marine National Park Headquarters’ Dongsha Management Office, it was determined that no protected marine species, or any of the seven species declared off-limits by the Kaohsiung City Government, had been caught, officials said.
The task force also released all 500kg of eels that had been caught by the boat’s crew.
Photo copied by Huang Chia-lin, Taipei Times
The crew were given a rapid diagnostic test for COVID-19 and all tested negative, the prosecutors’ office said.
The crew and their ship were escorted to the Port of Kaohsiung, and arrived at midnight on Monday.
The coast guard’s Southern Branch and Seventh Patrol Zone Command are responsible for arranging lodgings and quarantine for the crew members.
The coast guard said that its ships are patrolling near the Pratas Islands throughout the day to safeguard the rights of the Taiwanese fisheries industry.
The coast guard said that its actions would also go a long way toward ensuring the sustainable development of local marine resources.
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