Fri, Jun 18, 2004 page4

• Taiwan's tuna-fishing industry gets flak

  CRITICAL RESOURCE A new class of fishing boats used mainly by Taiwanese operators could wipe out the Pacific's rich, important tuna resources, experts say

  • AFP
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  A new jumbo class of fishing boats used by mainly Taiwanese operators is threatening the long-term future of the world's richest tuna stocks in the Pacific Ocean, experts say.

  The stakes are high -- around 2 million tonnes of Pacific tuna worth up to US$2 billion are caught every year.

  

  Officials from the Japanese Fisheries Agency are seen aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel, on Tuesday. Experts allege that a new jumbo class of fishing vessel used mainly by Taiwanese operators are posing a threat to the sustainability of the Pacific's critical tuna resources.

  PHOTO: EPA

  Most fish are caught by purse seiner vessels which round up schools of tuna in a single net. The new "super" purse seiners work with sophisticated fish finding technology and larger nets and can carry more fish.

  Japan says the new boats can take up to 11,000 tonnes of tuna a year, twice the amount of the older boats. It says one Taiwanese super seiner can take 20,000 tonnes a year.

  At a conference on Bali in April, Japan warned that the new boats could ruin the sustainability of the Pacific's tuna resources, a claim dismissed by Taiwan as sour grapes over increased competition.

  The US also expressed concern about the number of super seiners under construction and along with South Korea called for a moratorium. Fiji called for a total ban on the vessels.

  Michael Powles, chairman of the Bali meeting which was aimed at setting up a Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission, said for many years it had been assumed Pacific tuna stocks were self-sustaining.

  "But there are now those who say it has reached a really crucial point. There is a very real issue here .... It is such a critical resource," Powles said.

  John Hampton, manager of the Oceanic Fisheries Program at the New Caledonia-based Pacific Community, was less pessimistic but warned that some species of tuna, notably yellowfin and bigeye, could not withstand increased fishing.

  He said that Pacific yellowfin was "likely to be close to full exploitation" while bigeye was "fully and possibly over-exploited.

  "There is some concern regarding the possible impact of these new super-seiners on yellowfin and bigeye stocks," Hampton said.

  Meetings ahead of the establishment of the fisheries commission have urged all nations fishing in the Pacific to show restraint.

  The new commission formally comes into existence tomorrow, headquartered in the Federated States of Micronesia. Set up under a UN convention, it will link distant fishing nations such as China, Japan and South Korea with Pacific island fishing nations.

  The Pacific nations have delegated the Forum Fisheries Agency to control tuna and other fish access. The agency imposed a 205-tuna boat ceiling and, in the face of worries over the bigger boats, limited the number of days boats are allowed in Pacific waters.

  Currently a total of 34 operate under Taiwanese flags while another 28 that are owned by Taiwanese companies fly the Marshall Islands and Vanuatu flags of convenience.

  At the Bali conference Japan said the bulk of the Taiwanese vessels were super seiners and it alleged that Taiwan was building more vessels. It named seven Taiwanese companies and alleged they were intentionally circumventing licensing control and were fishing excessively.

  "In short, it is surprisingly evident that the Taiwanese fishing industry increased its purse seiner fishing capacity dramatically," Japan's delegation said.

  But Wu Hsin-chang (吳信長), chief of the Pacific fishery section at the Fisheries Agency in Taipei, denied Taiwanese boats were threatening stocks and said Japan was upset by the fierce competition in the industry.

  "We object to any attempt to oppress Taiwan's fishing development under the pretense of conserving fishing resources," he said.

  But Wu said Taiwan would comply with any new regulations restricting fishing in the Pacific.

  "What we ask for is a fair and transparent mechanism which gives us a clear idea of what is allowed and what isn't," he said.

  He also said Taiwan had no jurisdiction over "flag of convenience" boats and countries which licensed them had to supervise them.

  "The responsibility doesn't fall on Taiwan just because they are operated by Taiwanese investors," Wu said.
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