Taiwan is ahead of international standards in its measures to protect bluefin tuna and other species, the Fisheries Agency under the ROC Council of Agriculture said October 3.
The country lists bluefin tuna for conservation and limits the number of vessels allowed to fish for them, the agency said. In addition, catch certificates for bluefin are required for processing and trading.
The comments came in response to criticism from Greenpeace International, whose ship Esperanza arrived in Taiwan October 2 for a two-week visit with port calls to Keelung, Xiaoliuqiu Island and Kaohsiung as part of the organization’s campaign for protection of the world’s oceans.
According to Yen Ning, Taiwan oceans campaigner for Greenpeace, coastal tuna fishermen from the southern counties of Pingtung and Taitung have reported that fish stocks have declined sharply over the last 10 years, attributing the drop to activities by large purse seiners in deep-sea fisheries. Greenpeace urged the Fisheries Agency to support international conservation methods, prohibit fishing techniques that damage ocean ecology and promote effective management mechanisms with other countries.
The Fisheries Agency noted that Taiwan is a member of the Extended Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean, and Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. It also recently joined the South Pacific Region Fisheries Management Organisation.
“We will continue to cooperate with other members of these bodies to enhance the sustainable use of fishery resources,” the agency said, pointing out that a large portion of its budget related to deep-sea fishing in the last 10 years has gone to controlling the number of boats, upholding fishing moratoriums, patrolling the high seas and training crews and fishery observers.
The agency also plans to step up ocean conservation efforts in major fishing villages and with fishery businesses.
