Fishery-solar coexistence pilot zones pushed for announcement by month's end, fishermen divided, environmental groups worry about hasty rollout, refuse to endorse review

To meet its green energy targets, the government is aggressively promoting fishery-solar coexistence and will announce the implementation of "pilot zones" on October 31, located in Xuejia, Tainan, and Budai, Chiayi, with fish pond areas spanning as much as 2,500 hectares. But local fishermen are divided, and environmental groups concerned about green energy development also criticize the current lack of legal framework and arbitration mechanisms for fishery-solar coexistence and the unclear environmental and social review procedures, opposing a hasty rollout.

It is understood that fishery-solar coexistence was originally planned as demonstration zones in Xuejia, Tainan, and Budai and Yizhu, Chiayi, and is currently in the issue identification stage of the "environmental and social review," with the "environmental and social review" report originally scheduled to be submitted by the end of the year. But photovoltaic operators could not wait and paid visits to the Executive Yuan, prompting the Executive Yuan to issue instructions to accelerate the release, so the Ministry of Economic Affairs carved out "pilot zones" from the less controversial land within the demonstration zones for priority development.

In addition to holding two briefing sessions on the pilot zones on October 22, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, through workshops and local interview work, sought to complete the Bureau of Energy's internal environmental and social review before the announcement date at the end of the month. And it is understood that environmental groups, worried that the designation of the pilot zones is too hasty and fearing that the environmental and social review procedure would be rushed through under a compressed timetable, endangering the credibility of the environmental and social review, have refused to participate in the Bureau of Energy's review of the pilot zones and are unwilling to endorse hastily developed fishery-solar coexistence.

Tainan tenants have many worries, Chiayi landowners overwhelmingly welcome

On October 22, the Bureau of Energy of the Ministry of Economic Affairs held briefing sessions on the fishery-solar coexistence pilot zones in Tainan and Chiayi respectively, with the rare joint attendance of three deputy ministers: Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Tseng Wen-sheng, Deputy Minister of the Council of Agriculture Chen Tien-shou, and Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun. At the meetings it was announced that 1,750 hectares were selected around Xuejia, Tainan, and 876 hectares in the Budai area of Chiayi, totaling more than 2,500 hectares for the pilot zones, attracting many photovoltaic operators and fishermen.

At the morning Tainan session, aquaculture fishermen mostly expressed doubts, especially since nearly half of Tainan's aquaculture households are land tenants, who worry they will not be able to smoothly lease fish ponds in the future.

The afternoon session presented a stark contrast, as most aquaculture fishermen in Chiayi are landowners themselves and can directly benefit from the rent paid by photovoltaic operators, at 300,000-400,000 per hectare per year, so they almost overwhelmingly welcomed the fishery-solar coexistence policy and repeatedly demanded that the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Council of Agriculture include the entire "aquaculture specialty zone" in the pilot zones.

Tainan fishermen: Who will protect the rights of tenant aquaculture households? Who is responsible if the company runs away?

Yang Hui-chin, head of the 11th team of the Qigu aquaculture production and marketing group, said that 40% of aquaculture households in Tainan's aquaculture structure are tenants, and after the government promoted fishery-solar coexistence, landowners, acting on expectations, have already terminated contracts one after another or leased without contracts. In the future, under the fishery-solar coexistence contract, Party B will be the photovoltaic operator, and in the three-way relationship among landowners, photovoltaic operators, and tenant fishermen, fishermen have no say, and the government cannot see the panic of tenant fishermen.

Yang Hui-chin also questioned whether the current photovoltaic test report submitted by the Taiwan Fisheries Research Institute still lacks reproducibility for the hard clam tests, and whether rushing to promote it is too hasty.

Tainan City Councilor Chen Kun-ho, who pays attention to coastal aquaculture fishermen, said that operators are massively grabbing land in coastal areas, tenant fishermen are quite disadvantaged, and the government must formulate standardized contracts and cannot wait for disputes among landowners, photovoltaic operators, and fishermen before discussing dispute mechanisms.

Chen Kun-ho also advocated, "Fishery-solar coexistence involves the sustainable management of national land and should be coordinated and legislated by the Ministry of the Interior." It should not be confined to the 2025 energy transition target, thereby endangering the sustainable management of national land. He believes that although the Ministry of Economic Affairs emphasizes the reversibility of green energy facilities, in reality, "the moment the foundation piles are driven, the fate of coastal aquaculture fishermen is already decided."

Wang Hui-sheng, a representative of the Tainan City Fishery Rights Association, also pointed out that photovoltaics will change the ecology of the aquaculture industry and the development of coastal areas, including the impact of maintaining 70% of fishery-solar coexistence output on overall fishery output, wastewater monitoring mechanisms, and how to give back to local areas; all these discussions are absent.

Cheng An-tsang, head of the Aquaculture Department at National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology, pointed out that under the fishery-solar coexistence system, a situation of "really generating electricity, fake raising fish" may arise, and if both sides want to profit, it will ultimately only increase costs for both sides in vain.

Some fishermen also worry about the uncertainty of land being bound by fishery-solar coexistence contracts for 20 years. If the project contract is resold or used as collateral for a loan, leading to future disputes, the photovoltaic operator will have already made its money and left, and the aquaculture households will not know whom to hold responsible. Other fishermen question that fishery-solar coexistence involves large-area development, and its shielding effect on the surrounding environment and landscape, and the externalities it generates, also affect nearby residents and tourism and recreation, and should be included in the discussion.

Chiayi fishermen: Worried that if they do not join fishery-solar coexistence zones in the future, it may affect aquaculture competitiveness

Compared with the many worries of Tainan fishermen at the morning session, the fishermen who attended the Chiayi session in the afternoon almost overwhelmingly called for expanding the pilot zones, and even proposed including the entire aquaculture specialty zones in the pilot zones.

Huang Chin-shih, chairman of the Chiayi County Aquaculture Fishery Production Zone Development Association, said that more than twenty years ago the Council of Agriculture claimed that marine resources were declining and that the future belonged to aquaculture, cajoling fishermen into having fish pond land designated into aquaculture specialty zones. Unexpectedly, fish prices remained low, and fishermen not only failed to make money, but their land was instead bound by the aquaculture specialty zones (note), unable to be converted for development. Therefore, the aquaculture specialty zones should be included in the pilot zones, allowing fishermen to develop photovoltaics while also maintaining fishery production and raising their incomes.

Wang Kun-ho, supervisor of the Yunlin County Aquaculture Fishery Development Association, believes that it is very difficult for ordinary ground-mounted photovoltaics to change land use categories, whereas the fishery-solar coexistence model allows fishermen in aquaculture zones to share in photovoltaic development. Usually each fisherman owns several jia of fish ponds, and if the rent for one jia is three to four hundred thousand, fishermen have a basic income guarantee.
Huang A-chia, township chief of Yizhu Township, said the government should loosen restrictions on fishery-solar coexistence development. If there are no ecological concerns, the pilot zones can be expanded with the consent of fishermen, and the feeder lines of aquaculture specialty zones should be expanded on a priority basis.

Aquaculture household Chang Tsung-tien said the environment and ecology should not be the only first priority; the people should also be put first. He observed that over more than 20 years, Budai's population has halved from 48,000 to only 26,000, mainly because land development was restricted, and only by opening aquaculture specialty zones to fishery-solar coexistence can Budai regain prosperity.

Chang Tsung-tien said privately, "If we are not included in fishery-solar coexistence zones in the future, we will probably give up aquaculture." The reason is that "fishery-solar coexistence means there is rent to subsidize aquaculture households; if production and marketing are unbalanced and fish prices are low, at least there is rental income to sustain them, while aquaculture households without fishery-solar coexistence income will probably be unable to hold out in the market and be tragically eliminated." So no matter what, they want to squeeze through the narrow gate into the fishery-solar coexistence zones.

Environmental groups: Arbitration mechanisms unclear, environmental and social review unclear, government hastily forces through pilot zones

Li Han-lin, director of the Citizens of the Earth Foundation, who attended the meeting, criticized that the announcement of the pilot zones was too hasty and communication was insufficient. Moreover, this involves the survival rights of tenant fishermen and cannot rely only on contracts. A dispute mediation mechanism should be established through a complete legislative process before fishery-solar coexistence is launched, so as to ensure fishermen's rights.

He also pointed out that since fishery-solar coexistence photovoltaics have already been introduced, the conversion of other fish pond land for photovoltaics should be suspended rather than continuing to be opened up. He also believes that many communities are promoting tourism highlights or guided tours, and once photovoltaic plants are built they may affect community development; these should all be included in the discussion.

Huang Hsin-wen, a lawyer at the Environmental Jurists Association, also emphasized the necessity of legalization. "If it is not legalized, it will be difficult to regulate operators' obligations," and if there are disputes, it will be quite unfavorable for fishermen. Operators should propose "countermeasures" for the environmental and social review, yet in the Bureau of Energy's briefing this was simplified to "environmentally friendly measures." What exactly is the difference? And what is the legal status of the environmental and social review? The Ministry of Economic Affairs still did not specifically explain.

She also questioned the necessity of designating the pilot zones, and worried that with the system not yet established and the stakeholders not yet clarified, a hasty rollout may harm fishermen's rights.