Sat, Sep 09, 2023 page2

• Taiwan taking steps to curb illegal fishing

  • By Yang Yuan-ting and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
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  Taiwan was for the second time listed on the US’ biennial report on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, but the report also acknowledged the steps it has taken to remedy the situation, the Fisheries Agency said yesterday.

  Taiwan, Angola, Grenada, Mexico, China, the Gambia and Vanuatu were the seven nations and entities accused of engaging in IUU fishing by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in its biennial report to the US Congress on Thursday last week.

  Illegal fishing poses a threat to “ocean ecosystems and sustainable fisheries critical to global food and economic security, putting law-abiding fishermen and seafood producers in the United States and abroad at a disadvantage,” the report said.

  

  Vendors sell seafood at a market in New Taipei City’s Tamsui District on Nov. 20, 2021.

  Photo: CNA

  However, Taiwan was certified to have taken actions to tackle the illegal fishing activities identified in the 2021 report, the NOAA added.

  In the 2021 report, the NOAA told the US Congress that 11 Taiwanese-owned tuna fishing vessels had contravened regional rules prohibiting shark catching while operating in the Pacific and the Atlantic.

  Taiwan was also criticized for not taking sufficient steps to protect sea turtles from bycatch that were commensurate to the changes made by the US to its laws and regulations, the agency said.

  However, since then, Taiwan has taken action to combat illegal fishing by investigating the vessels implicated in the previous report, amending fishing guidelines to reduce the harm caused by bycatch and sharing information on the nation’s progress in these matters with the US, it said.

  These efforts led to the NOAA’s positive determination that Taiwan was remedying IUU fishing activities carried out by its fishing boats, it said.

  On the issue of labor exploitation, the agency said the government was made aware of this problem when the US Department of Labor last year named Taiwan for employing child labor.

  Taiwanese officials have scheduled a meeting with their US counterparts to present documentation proving that measures have been taken to tackle the alleged labor abuse described in the US reports, it said.

  Taiwan is committed to fighting IUU fishing and protecting workers’ rights in the fishing industry, and will continue to collaborate with the NOAA and US Department of Labor on these matters, and carry out the Action Plan for Fisheries and Human Rights, the agency said.

  The fishery industry is urged to comply with international and domestic laws and regulations on fishing and labor rights, especially in light of the passage of laws by the US and EU to exclude those found to have infringed on the standards from their markets and ports, it said.

  Additional reporting by CNA
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