Fisheries Agency of Taiwan indicates that a sanction had recently been imposed on a confirmed case of retaining prohibited shark species.
Following a press release with title “ Fisheries Agency of Taiwan reaffirms its determination to combat IUU fishing”, which was released on April 10, 2020, the Fisheries Agency confirmed that a severe sanction had been imposed on a case of fishing vessel committing serious violations of retaining prohibited shark species.
The operator and master of the alleged fishing vessel collectively fined a total of 5.5 million NTD (183,333USD) for retaining prohibited shark species.
The port inspectors of Fisheries Agency conducted port inspection on the alleged fishing vessel “SHUN SHENG NO.588” right after it entered the domestic port, and inspectors found retaining shark carcasses and fins of the prohibited species oceanic whitetip shark, which suggested retaining of prohibited species. After confirming that there was no alleged violation of shark finning based on the fin-to-carcass ratio, the Fisheries Agency estimated the catch of oceanic whitetip shark weighs over 5,197 kilograms using conversion factors.
Therefore, as per Article 36 of the “Act for Distant Water Fisheries” and the “Criteria for Punishment on Violations of Subparagraph (11) of Article 13, Paragraph 1 of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries”, the Council of Agriculture imposed a fine of 4.5 million NTD (150,000USD) on the operator and a suspension of the fishing license for 3 months, a fine of 1 million (33,333USD) was also imposed on the vessel master and his seaman’s book was revoked for 3 months. In addition, the illegal catch was destructed.
Violation relates to prohibited shark species is not tolerable
The Fisheries Agency indicates that the government work closely with international fisheries organizations to adopt the list of prohibited species based on the status of relevant fisheries resources as a conservation measure. To that end, any violation of fishing for, retaining, transshipping, landing or selling prohibited species is not tolerable. The Fisheries Agency reaffirms that punishment on the offender as per domestic laws and regulations as well as continuous communication with and outreach to fisherman are crucial to the sustainability of the fish stocks as well as the fisheries development.
Contact Point: Deputy Director-General Mr. Kuo-Ping Lin
E-mail: kuoping@ms1.fa.gov.tw