2005-09-30/Fisheries Agency,Council of Agriculture,Executive Yuan

In 1999 the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) adopted the International Plan of Action for the Management of Fishing Capacity (IPOA-Fishing Capacity) calling upon global reduction of large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels by 20% to 30%. To meet with the spirit of this International Plan of Action, Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture, the Executive Yuan of the Republic of China has launched a mandatory vessel reduction program for scrapping her large-scale longline vessels, by 2 phases in 2005 and 2006. The program, which is aimed to scrap a total of 120 large-scale tuna longline vessels, will cost NT$ 4 billion. Domestic and foreign news media are invited to witness the process of Taiwan’s implementation of the scrapping of large-scale tuna longline fishing vessels on 30 September 2005. It is reported by the Fisheries Agency that in the first phase of the vessel reduction program for implementation in 2005, 73 vessels will be scrapped, among which 63 vessels have returned to their homeports or reported sunk or lost at sea, and 2 of them are under scrapping in the local shipyards. Scrapping of the remaining will follow.

The Fisheries Agency expresses that to ensure sustainable utilization of marine fisheries resources, since 1968 the Government has been implementing a series of management measures on fishing capacity. They include: (1) restriction on the total number of vessels and the total vessel tonnage of the entire fleet, (2) retention of the right of building of new vessel by the Government after the exportation of a fishing vessel since 1995, in other words, no building of new vessel will be permitted after exportation of an old vessel by the owner, (3) implementation of two phases of vessel buyback program respectively, from 1991 to 1995 and from 2000 to 2004, reducing the total number of fishing vessels from 19, 000 to 15, 000, with a reduction of approximately 20% of the entire fleet.

Fisheries Agency further indicates the two phases vessel reduction program in 2005 and 2006 are a compulsory program, and the fishing licenses of those vessels under the program will be cancelled. According to Article 38 of Fisheries Act, the Government shall provide the owners of those vessels scrapped under the compulsory program with the compensation, and the fisheries association with whom the vessel belongs should coordinate with the operators of the surviving fishing vessels to provide adequate compensation to the owners of the vessels scrapped under the program. The total compensation is amounted to NT$70,000 per vessel tonnage, with the ratio of cost sharing between the Government and the industry being 3 to 4. In other words, the Government will bear the cost of compensation of NT$ 30, 000 per vessel tonnage, while the industry will provide a mutual compensation of NT$ 40, 000 per vessel tonnage. It is estimated that the total compensation paid by the Government and the industry will reach NT$ 4 billion, equivalent to US$ 125 million.

Fisheries Agency further expressed that in order to prove the identity of those vessels subject to scrapping under the program and to ensure safety working and preservation of the environment, a series of measures have been taken. They include: (1) announcement of the names of vessels for scrap under the program, (2) taking of the photo of the vessels subject to scrap under the program by the fisheries association upon return of the vessels to their homeports, (3) supervision and photo shooting for records of the process of scrapping by the fisheries association, (4) requiring the appropriate agencies of the local government where the scrapping is to be carried out to supervise the process in accordance with the regulations on environmental protection, labor safety, and fire prevention, to ensure safety working and protection of environment.

The Fisheries Agency finally emphasizes, through such positive measures as implementation of vessel reduction program of large-scale tuna longline vessels operating in the three oceans, in a transparent manner, it is hoped that international community can understand Taiwan’s determination in reducing her fleet size. The Government of Taiwan will continue participating in the work of international fisheries management organizations to achieve the objectives of “responsible resources conservation” and “sustainable development of far seas tuna longline fishery.”