The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association and the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association held the 12th Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Committee meeting Jan. 27-29 in Yilan County.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Taiwanese delegation was led by TJRA Deputy Secretary-General Lin Yu-hui, with Fisheries Agency Director-General Wang Mao-cheng as the chief negotiator. Representatives from the Ocean Affairs Council’s Coast Guard Administration and local fishermen’s associations also took part in the event.
The two sides commended the 2025 operating rules for fishing in a triangular area north of the Yaeyama Islands and reached consensus on the rules for this year, the ministry said.
Delegates from both sides agreed to revise an industry self-regulation code and conduct an outreach campaign before the fishing season begins to prevent fishing gear from drifting east of certain coordinates, the MOFA said. The delegates from Taiwan also called on their Japanese counterparts to proceed with talks on overlapping exclusive economic zones as soon as possible.
The committee was established May 7, 2013, as part of the Taiwan-Japan Fisheries Agreement signed by the two organizations on April 10 of the same year in Taipei City. The two sides have alternated hosting the meeting every year since then to provide a platform to maintain order and resolve fishery-related issues, according to the MOFA. (SFC-E)
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