Economy

Taiwan joins South Pacific fisheries body

The rights of Taiwan fishermen operating in the South Pacific are now better protected through the country's membership in the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation. (CNA)

• Publication Date：09/24/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Grace Kuo

Taiwan has officially become a member of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation, the ROC Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Sept. 23.

Taiwan’s membership as a fishing entity under the name Chinese Taipei came after representatives with the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New Zealand submitted a document Aug. 24 stating that the nation agrees to abide by the terms of the Convention on the Conservation and Management of High Seas Fishery Resources in the South Pacific Ocean, the MOFA said.

Participation in the SPRFMO “allows us to expand [fishery] activities to the South Pacific region, solidify our fishing privileges on the Pacific high seas and protect the rights of our fishermen working in these waters,” the ministry said.

The Fisheries Agency under the ROC Council of Agriculture added that every year, approximately 20 Taiwan fishing vessels weighing over 700 tons operate in the eastern South Pacific off Peru. They catch about 24,000 metric tons of fish annually, generating revenue of more than NT$1 billion (US$33.3 million).

The MOFA pointed out that to ensure the nation’s fishing rights in the Pacific and expand its interests in the offshore fishing industry, the country has obtained membership in the Extended Commission for the Conservation of Southern Bluefin Tuna, the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, the International Scientific Committee for Tuna and Tuna-like Species in the North Pacific Ocean, and the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.

“Taiwan’s success in joining the SPRFMO indicates the overall strength of its offshore fishing has once again received international recognition,” the ministry stressed, adding that “We will cooperate with other members of the organization to enhance the sustainable use of fishery resources.”

The SPRFMO, with its Interim Secretariat in Wellington, New Zealand, is “an intergovernmental organization committed to the long-term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources of the South Pacific Ocean,” especially species that are not highly migratory, such as jack mackerel, orange roughy and jumbo squid.

Other members are Australia, Belize, Chile, Cook Islands, Cuba, European Union, Kingdom of Denmark in respect of the Faroe Islands, New Zealand, Russia and South Korea. (THN)

Write to Grace Kuo at mlkuo@mofa.gov.tw