Source: Focus Taiwan
Kaohsiung, Oct. 20 (CNA) A European Union (EU) delegation visited Chienchen Fishing Port in Kaohsiung Friday on an inspection tour of the facilities and the management of the Fisheries Agency (FA).
The delegation was accompanied by Huang Chao-chin (黃昭欽), head of the Kaohsiung Fishermen’s Association, Huang Teng-fu (黃登福), deputy chief of Kaohsiung’s Marine Bureau, and various FA officials.
The visit is part of a 10-day inspection tour of Taiwan that began Oct. 16 to evaluate the effectiveness of the country’s measures to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).
Taiwan was given a “yellow card” by the European Commission in October 2015 and was warned that the country risked being identified as uncooperative in the fight against IUU.
Chienchen Fishing Port is one of Taiwan’s most important deep-sea fishing bases, with catches of tuna and squid coming in from the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, the South Atlantic and the North Pacific.
The Kaohsiung Fishermen’s Association recorded a catch of 200,000 to 300,000 tonnes last year, with an estimated value of more than NT$10 billion (US$330 million), said Huang Chao-chin.