Deep-sea fishing penalties undecided, EU plans to issue a red card to Taiwan, China
Last October, Taiwan's distant-water fishing industry was hit with a yellow card warning by the European Union, with a deadline of half a year to improve its illegal fishing practices. Now the deadline has passed by 2 months, yet the "Distant-Water Fisheries Act" is still stuck in cross-party negotiations. Council of Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung admitted today at the Legislative Yuan that the EU has concerns about Taiwan's legislative progress, and is "preparing to issue Taiwan a red card." It is understood that the critical period may be the end of the current legislative session on July 15.
If the EU issues Taiwan a red card, it would mean a ban on Taiwanese fishery products, and conservative estimates put related industry losses at as much as 7 billion yuan. At that point, it would also trigger doubts from markets such as the United States and Japan about our management capabilities, with losses in output value reaching 30 billion yuan.
EU officials visited Taiwan earlier this month to assess; Council of Agriculture: a red card is possible
The Council of Agriculture went to the Legislative Yuan today to be questioned on animal shelter management issues. Among them, Legislator Kuan Bi-ling asked about the Council of Agriculture's communication with the EU regarding the amendment of the "Distant-Water Fisheries Act." Tsao Chi-hung admitted that the EU has concerns about the various versions under cross-party negotiation in the Legislative Yuan, and according to Taiwan's representative in Belgium in Europe, the message sent back to the National Security Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Council of Agriculture was, "preparing to issue Taiwan a red card."
Earlier this month, the Legislative Yuan reviewed the draft "Distant-Water Fisheries Act" for two consecutive days, but controversial provisions including penalties for major violations and fishery resource use fees were not resolved and were sent directly to cross-party negotiation. It is understood that when EU officials in charge of IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) affairs visited the Council of Agriculture earlier this month, they also went to various party caucuses to understand the status of the amendment.
Kuan Bi-ling said that throughout the legislative process, the communication gap between the two sides (the EU and the Council of Agriculture) was too large. The EU believes Taiwan should increase penalties to be on par with international standards, but as far as she understands, although Taiwan's fines are low, the license suspension system is very strict, starting at 3 months and 9 months at a time. The EU may only see that Taiwan's penalties are too light and therefore believe the law is too lenient. The Council of Agriculture should strengthen communication with the EU.
The European Union office stated that the EU has three main views on the principles of the amendment: the law enacted must be deterrent, penalties must have a real impact on operators, and there must be a principle of proportionality, in other words, penalties cannot be too light. The office emphasized that since April this year, the EU has been evaluating, and "currently no timetable has been heard."
The period before July 15 is the observation period; the EU looks at legislation and also at enforcement
However, Fisheries Agency Director-General Chen Tian-shou said that the period until the end of the Legislative Yuan's current session on July 15 is a very important observation period. If legislation is not completed during this period, it is very likely that the yellow card will turn into a red card. The Council of Agriculture has communicated with the EU that "Taiwan is legislating, not amending," hoping to be given more time.
In addition to enacting the "Distant-Water Fisheries Act," Kuan Bi-ling said the EU is also very concerned about the enforcement mindset and situation of Taiwan's agricultural authorities going forward, not just looking at legislation alone. In response, Chen Tian-shou also said that passing the law is very important, but management measures such as port controls and catch tracking must also be improved quickly.