Hello from Taiwan! Below
is the English translation of Taiwan Fisheries
Agency’s response to Greenpeace’s protest
which exposed a Flag of Convenience (FOC)
fish carrier Lung Yuin in Kaoshiung port
that is breaching Taiwan’s laws. Instead
of acting and investigating, the FA has
responded to Greenpeace with lies and wrong
facts. The FA claims are in italics below
"FA reiterates
legal compliance with management of Taiwanese-owned
fishing vessels flying foreign flags of
convenience (FOC). Taiwan nationals operating
reefers flying foreign flags currently do
not need to register. In response to Greenpeace's
23 January press release "Suspected
illegal reefer Lung Yuin exposed, FA unable
to efficiently manage high seas fishery,"
FA explains that Lung Yuin reefer is registered
in Panama"
It appears the Taiwan
Fisheries Agency has not done one minute
of investigation into this FOC vessel, or
it would have noticed that the vessel no
longer flies the flag of Panama. Photo evidence
leads us to believe that the flag onboard
is the flag of Vanuatu. Oops, has the Taiwan
FA been exposed for not knowing how to use
the standard Lloyd's Sea-web database? According
the database, the vessel’s flagging changed
from Panama in August 2010. Greenpeace has
since communicated with Vanuatu and requested
that the government de-flag the vessel.
"and is invested
and operated by Taiwanese foreign business
vessel. According to Taiwanese law, those
investing in and operating foreign fishing
vessels in outer oceans engaged in industrial
fishing shall in accordance with“Regulations
on the Investment in the Operation of Foreign
Flag Fishing Vessels by Taiwan Nationals
register with the FA and provide inspection
documents issued by registration country
such as Company registry, vessel registry,
fishing license and the documents on operating
in the fishing area, fishing zone, or fishing
period, and with the fishing gear and fishing
method. The above regulation is applicable
to fishing vessels directly involved in
fish capture operations (e.g. longliners,
purse seine or squid fishing vessels); foreign
transport vessels (reefers) invested and
operated by Taiwan nationals currently do
not need registration with FA for approval."
This statement is simply
wrong and a feeble excuse for not doing
their job. Greenpeace has a copy of the
legislation and it states the following:
According to Article
4, read together with Article 3(3), the
registration requirement applies in cases
of "engagement in the business of fishing
by fishing vessels, trading, transporting
and import and export of fishery products."
In short, it applies in the first place
to fishing by fishing vessels, but in addition
to support activities such as trading and
transporting. These are typically undertaken
by reefers such as Lung Yuin.
The claim that the ship
currently does not need to register is simply
a new interpretation of the regulation by
the FA. This is strange, since the registry
list given to Greenpeace in June 2010 has
two vessels just like the Lung Yuin as registered
(Yung Da Fa 101 and 102). If they do not
need to register, then why had the Taiwan
FA accepted these ships’ registrations in
the first place?
In addition, Professor
Nien-Tsu Alfred Hu, head of oceans policy
at the Taiwanese National Sun Yat-sen University
research centre has also confirmed Greenpeace’s
view on the scope of the legislation in
an opinion piece in a Taiwanese newspaper
yesterday. This is consistent with international
law, where “fishing activities” are generally
accepted to include the supporting activities
conducted by vessels like Lung Yuin. As
an example, the Western and Central Pacific
Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) defines “fishing
vessel” in Article 1 of its convention as
follows:
“fishing vessel” means
any vessel used or intended for use for
the purpose of fishing, including support
ships, carrier vessels and any other vessel
directly involved in such fishing operations”
Lung Yuin foreign-registered reefer already
declared according to regulations fish catch
transferred from Taiwanese fishing vessels
FA explains, all tuna and swordfish/marlin
trasshipped within the area of RFMO, reefers
ought to report and register in advance
with RFMO. Before the transshipment, ought
to notify the secretary office of related
organization(s?) and regional seas observers,
after which can begin high seas transshipment,
and after fishished ought to report transshipped
quantity. After investigation, Lung Yuin
is a registered reefer with the WCPFC (WCPFC)
and IATTC (IATTC), and its transshipment
of fish catch from Taiwanese vessels is
with prior permission in accordance with
the “regulation on transshipment of distant
water tuna longliner and catch carrier operating
in three Oceans” created by the FA."
Again, Greenpeace and
a large part of the international community
hold that transshipments taking place at
sea without the watchful eye of the authorities
are the most significant loopholes that
enable the laundering of illegal fish catches.
Evidence shows time and time again that
the long-line fleets of Taiwan and other
countries fish in international waters or
in the national waters of developing coastal
states with limited monitoring capacity,
without onboard observers simply cannot
be trusted to fish legally. Just this week,
two long-liners were intercepted in the
waters of Solomon Islands for suspected
IUU (illegal, unregulated, unreported) fishing
of which at least one is confirmed to be
Taiwanese.
These are the kinds
of vessels the Long Yuin meets at sea, collects
their tuna and the notifications these vessels
provide to authorities do next to nothing
to actually monitor catches, one of the
most serious problems in the fishing industry.
Taiwan and other Asian fishing powers continue
to oppose the ban on at-sea transshipments.
It is clear their interests lie in facilitating
pirate fishing and maximizing the profits
of the shady tuna industry rather than ensuring
long term sustainable fisheries- a key food
source for millions- and profits of the
legitimate fishing industry. Greenpeace
wants to see real action from Taiwan and
other pishing powers in tackling these issues.
We can begin to have control over the Pacific
waters by agreeing to ban transshipments
at sea and to close the Pacific high seas
pockets where pirate fishing is known to
be rampant and that vessels use to disguise
catches taken illegally in the national
waters of Pacific Island Countries.
"FA supports nurturing
resources and fisheries management under
international structure. As for GP's request
that FA support international ocean conservation
measures, FA emphasizes that achieving sustainable
fisheries, implementing effective management
and abiding by international fisheries measures
are already commonly accepted values. In
2010, during the ICCAT (ICCAT) annual meeting,
the fisheries management of only 5 out of
52 participants (including members and non-member
partners)--of which Taiwan is one--were
not singled out for affirmation or concern,
thus indicating international recognition
of Taiwan's fishery management. FA supports
logical, scientifically-supported conservation
measures. Greenpeace advocates closing high
seas pockets, reducing catch by 50%, and
banning fish-aggregating devices, which
were brought up for discussion in WCPFC's
7th annual meeting in 2010. Opinions were
divided, and more in-depth research of scientific
basis necessary, thus these measures were
not passed and a decision made to create
a committee at a later date for discussion,
to be brought up in 2011's WCPFC annual
meeting when Taiwan will be present for
discussion."
The history of international
fisheries and tuna management by the Regional
Fisheries Management Organsations such as
ICCAT and WCPFC leaves much to be hoped
for. Decisions are made by consensus and
the lowest common denominator approach is
the norm. Fishing interests argue year after
year that there isn’t enough scientific
information on the table and delay the adoption
of much needed measures to rescue the region’s
declining bigeye and yellowfin tuna populations.
This year, the Pacific Island Countries
put forward strong proposals to help save
the tuna, but they were shot down and no
new measures to address the tuna decline
were adopted. Instead of requesting more
science, Taiwan needs to embrace the precautionary
approach mandated by intentional law and
act for the benefit of our oceans, the tuna
and the people dependent on them, even in
the face of uncertainties. We can no longer
afford to play roulette with our oceans,
we need marine reserves, and a precautionary
and ecosystem based management now. The
best ways to do this would be to institute
a 50% reduction in fishing effort, banning
the use of wasteful Fish Aggregation Devices
(FADs) in purse seine fishing and the creation
of marine reserves in the Pacific would
go a long-way. Greenpeace is looking forward
to Taiwan’s confirmation of support to these
measures.
Crew and activists from
the Rainbow Warrior gather at the FA headquarters
in Kaohsiung to deliver two flags, one Panama
and one of Vanuatu to the FA. A symbolic
gesture to show lack of investigation into
the case as the FA has stated even the flag
state of the vessel wrong and to confront
the FAs lies that it does not need to regulate
reefer vessels under it FOC law.
