WCPFC Commission meeting concludes: can the pattern of the big getting bigger continue?
The bluefin tuna season was once the focus of nationwide attention a few years ago. Every April, media from across the country gathered in Donggang and Nanfang'ao, waiting for the first bluefin tuna to enter port. In 2005, the first catch at Nanfang'ao fetched a high price of NT$4,600 per kilogram, totaling NT$1 million, whipping up national excitement. Eating bluefin tuna became a symbol of fashion and status, and it also sparked a wave of fishermen competing to catch bluefin tuna.
In recent years, however, as tuna numbers have declined year by year, voices questioning the consumption of bluefin tuna have emerged among the public. Local governments and fishermen's associations have stopped hyping the bluefin tuna season for the past 2 years. In 2013, the first catch was worth only NT$2,300 per kilogram, totaling NT$460,000. This bluefin tuna competition was further brought to the surface after the Guangdaxing, a fishing boat from Donggang, was shot at in the Taiwan-Philippines waters, elevating the cross-national conflict over bluefin tuna fishing onto the table.
The coastal and offshore fisheries management budget was NT$89 million, accounting for only 10% (Source: Fisheries Agency 2013 budget report)
It is a well-known fact that Taiwan's coastal and offshore fishery resources are deteriorating. Ask a fisherman at the port: "There are no fish left along the coast. What will your next generation do?" The fisherman replies: "Do you think I'm so unlucky that my children and grandchildren will still have to fish?" What they think in their hearts is that Taiwan's coastal and offshore fisheries have long had no tomorrow.
In the past two years, the Fisheries Agency has promoted policies such as the "Mackerel and Scad Fishery Management Measures," "Prohibition and Control Measures for Crab and Swimming Crab Fishing," "Regulations on Fishing Season Control for Eel Fry," "Shark Fins Not Separated from the Body," and "Matters to Be Observed for the Import of Shark Fin," which are worthy of encouragement. However, at international tuna resource management meetings, it has failed to actively support important conservation proposals; and no resources have been seen invested in coastal and offshore fishery management work either.
"If there are no more fish, can there still be a major fishing nation?" Is Taiwan's reputation as a major fishing nation built solely on the catch volume and output value of the distant-water fishing industry? The livelihoods of many fishermen and the future of Taiwan's oceans are perhaps more worthy of attention from the relevant authorities.