Fishermen want to rally everyone to catch mackerel during their February spawning season

A demonstration of climbing a tree to look for fish

Every year from January to late spring in May, 6 to 12 nautical miles off the coast of Su'ao, Yilan, Taiwan, China, there is a stretch of sea named after the old lighthouse on the northern Ao cape, commonly known as "Honghuoxin," where groups of mother mackerel arrive, each with a big belly about to give birth and spawn, and the ocean plays a song of endless life.

However, large light-luring fishing boat fleets of over 100 tons, which are restricted by law to fishing only beyond 12 nautical miles because of their powerful catching capacity, have watched light-boat fleets under 100 tons catch fish inside 12 nautical miles with great abandon over the past few years, turning green with envy and unable to sleep. Since the autumn of 2017, they have constantly made a fuss, demanding that the government let them legally enter the mackerel mothers' maternity zone within 12 nautical miles every year from January to April, so they can all join in and wipe out the mother fish in one net!

They dare to say it, but I believe ordinary people would not dare to listen. Since scientific research has already identified this mackerel spawning area, the solution should be the opposite: boats under 100 tons should also be asked to leave, and no one should catch the mother fish at all. Anyone who has seen light-luring fishing boats of over 100 tons operating at sea is shocked by their catching power.

Now January has arrived, and the big boats are anxious, speaking louder and louder. Even though several other fishermen's associations strongly oppose opening it up, the big boats still desperately want the government to give in, and are even going to charter tour buses to protest! They seem to have forgotten that the ocean is shared by all citizens.

Mackerel getting smaller and smaller (photo provided by Lin Ailong)

Give conditional "mandatory fishing moratorium subsidies" to let the ocean recover

Cheap fish hurt fishermen, and fishermen all feel it. However, life is reality. As soon as a fishing ban in February and March is mentioned, fishermen jump up and shout for fishing moratorium subsidies. In the past, fishery regulations, considering the financial burden, only gave subsidies for voluntary fishing moratoriums; those under mandatory moratoriums could not receive them. But from the standpoint of marine conservation, the author believes the fishing moratorium subsidy system has long needed a complete overhaul: only by giving "conditional" subsidies to those forced into fishing moratoriums can the ocean breathe and can the fishing industry have a future.

Conditions could include, for example, being forced into a fishing moratorium for more than three months in the whole year, having complete past records of fish landing declarations, proving that one is truly a fisherman, and having no violations; and during the moratorium, one must take on "marine environmental maintenance work," and so on, just as fallow farmland must be maintained and green manure planted, and only after review is passed can fallow subsidies be received. Enjoying rights means bearing obligations; this is an important principle of the rule of law.

But then again, if merely adding a February fishing moratorium makes people shout for fishing moratorium subsidies, that is truly not the way to sustainable industry. In February, offshore fishing boats originally mostly stay in port for the New Year because of the northeast monsoon and the holiday. Even if mackerel are caught and brought back during the New Year period, there are no processing plants available to help handle them. The captain may not want to rest, but the fishermen and the employees in the processing plants all need to rest. Mackerel spoils very quickly; Japanese even exaggeratedly describes it as "saba no ikigusare," saying mackerel begins to spoil while still alive. Therefore, fishing boats and seafood processing plants usually operate in close coordination. Taiwan, China should upgrade the industry's output value by improving catch quality and building brands, not by sacrificing holidays to maintain the industry.

Quickly shift fuel subsidies to fishing moratorium subsidies and carry out sustainable management

The author also calls on the Executive Yuan here: a maritime nation must quickly bring back the fish in the sea. Please, as soon as possible, shift the fuel subsidy that was once cut from 28% to 14% in 2002, that is, the budget of about NT$2 billion saved each year, back to the Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture for mandatory fishing moratorium subsidies and sustainable management! To this day, many fishermen still frequently express through legislators how much they long for that former 28% fuel subsidy!

Let us take care of the ocean's golden goose together

In order to leave children a future with fish every year, it is suggested that the government should clearly uphold the policy position of "sustainable fisheries," first implement a three-year fishing moratorium for mackerel and scad in February, March, and June, and give appropriate fishing moratorium subsidies. Let the mother mackerel spawn properly, and during this period further invest in research on mackerel and scad resources, build a "dynamic catch management mechanism" based on stronger scientific data and enforcement capacity, and in the future further plan total catch, individual boat catch quotas, and so on.

And the spawning area of the mother mackerel should be designated a completely no-fishing zone from February to May each year, with no one allowed to enter and catch fish; that is the fairest. To conserve marine resources, we must take good care of the ocean's golden goose!