News
Taiwan to scrap 120 tuna boats, conserve stocks
2005-10-01 / Central News Agency /
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| One of Taiwan's ocean-going tuna longliners is being scrapped in the southern port city of Kaohsiung as part of Taiwan's agreement to reduce its tuna fishing capacity in support of a U.N. effort to conserve the world's tuna stocks. / Central News Agency |
Taiwan will reduce its tuna fleet by scrapping 120 ocean-going longliners within two years to help conserve the world's tuna stocks and related resources, officials from the Council of Agriculture announced yesterday.
The government will spend NT$4 billion (US$121.2 million) to offset dismantling of the vessels this year and next, in a bid to reduce Taiwan's tuna fishing capacity, officials from the COA Fisheries Administration said.
Although Taiwan is not a United Nations member, the country is resolute in supporting conservation measures called for by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's Committee on Fisheries in 1999 to reduce fishing fleets that contribute to overfishing, the officials said.
The decision has been made as Taiwan wants to do its duty as a member of the global village, as well as to help secure sustainable fishery resources for all, the officials added.
The scrapping of the boats will be mandatory and the vessels' licenses will be repealed automatically, they said.
