Local fishermen can not only operate safely in expanded fishing areas in the East China Sea, but their catch will increase by at least 10 percent after the historic fishery pact signed on April 10 between Taiwan and Japan took effect on May 10, a top government fishery official said yesterday.
James Sha, director general of the Fisheries Agency under the Council of Agriculture, made the remarks in an interview with the Central News Agency.
The pact guarantees Taiwanese fishermen the right to operate in designated areas in the East China Sea, including those surrounding the disputed Diaoyutai Islands, which are claimed by both sides. The agreement also gives Taiwan an additional fishing zone of 4,530 square kilometers (1,400 square nautical miles), bringing the total free fishing area to 74,000 square meters in the East China Sea, which lies south of the 27-degrees north latitude and north of the Sakishima Islands
Sha said that while the tuna fishing season just kicked off in early May, local fishermen will be able to legally and safely carry out their fishing operations in the expanded fishing zone, thus boosting their annual fish catch by 10 percent, especially for sailfish, blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, shark, common dolphinfish, squid, and sea bream.
The average annual fish catch in the designated fishing zone for the last three years is estimated at over 40,000 metric tons, according to statistics released by the Fisheries Agency.
Sha also stressed that longline fishing boats with a capacity of 20 tons will be required to have a vessel monitoring system (VMS) for safety purposes. Those fishermen who want to engage in tuna fishing operations are required to submit a catch documentation scheme (CDS) before commencing fishing.
The fishery agreement was signed at the 17th round of Taipei-Tokyo fishery talks held on April 10 at Taipei Guest House in downtown Taipei. The Taiwanese delegation was headed by Liao Liou-yi, chairman of Taiwan’s Association for East Asian Relations, while the Japanese delegation was led by Mitsuo Ohashi, head of Japan’s Interchange Association.
Taiwan has for years hoped to forge a consensus with Japan on settling the fishery disputes that frequently occur in the region, where Taiwanese fishing boats are often harassed by Japanese coast guard vessels.
Taiwan and Japan had held 16 rounds of fishing rights talks since 1996, most recently in February 2009, in an attempt to resolve bilateral differences on fishing rights in waters adjacent to the Diaoyutais, known as the Senkaku Islands in Japan.
The islands are under Japan’s administrative control but are also claimed by Taiwan and China, and their waters have served as traditional fishing grounds for Taiwanese fishermen.
Local fishermen expressed gratitude to the government for the latest fishery pact signed with Japan. We would like to thank all government units for signing the deal, which is expected to better safeguard fishermen’s rights to operate in the disputed seas, said Hsu Shun-fa, head of a fishermen’s association in New Taipei’s Wanli District.
1999 2013 The China Post