To eradicate the practice of shark finning, combat illegal fishing activities of shark finning, and protect the rights of law-abiding vessel operators, the Council of Agriculture of Executive Yuan had enacted the “Directions for Decision Standards on the Violation of the Management of Shark Catch of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries,” measuring the punishment based on the amount of the discarded carcasses. The Taiwan Fisheries Agency indicated that, recently a fishing vessel named “JIN XX No. 66” was caught shark finning of Blue Shark, discarding the carcasses of approximately up to 134,180 kilograms. As such deed, along with landings without approval, constitute serious violations, a determination to severely punish the operator and the employees involved was made. The operator is fined NTD 4.5 million (equivalent to 150,000 US Dollars) and the fishing license is also suspended for 16 months; the involved employee is fined NTD 500,000 (USD 16,667), with the suspension of Fishing Vessel Crew Identification and the Certificate of Fishing Vessel Officers for 16 months.

　　The practice of shark finning has long been criticized by conservation groups, media, the US, and European countries; such media coverage seriously harms the reputation of Taiwan and the fishing industry as a whole and jeopardizes the interests of law-abiding vessel operators. The Taiwan Fisheries Agency stated that Taiwan had started promoting the policy of “shark fins naturally attached” earlier in 2012 with the particular purpose of prohibiting the practice of shark finning and ensuring the sustainability of shark resources. According to the Act for Distant Water Fisheries and its relevant regulations published in 2017, once the practice of shark finning is found onboard distant water fishing vessels, the violators will be punished accordingly as such deed is considered a general violation. However, it is found in recent years that a few greedy fishers, after catching sharks, removed, and retained only the shark fins, and discarded a great number of carcasses that is less valuable. Despite the severity of such cases, the involved simply received the same punishment as others, undermining the correction effect of the punishment. As a result, the Taiwan Fisheries Agency had published the “Directions for Decision Standards on the Violation of the Management of Shark Catch of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries” lately, seeking to aggravate the punishment of those who did not fully utilize shark catch (e.g., shark finning) based on the number of discarded carcasses. According to the Directions, violators can be imposed both fine and suspension of their relevant certifications based on the severity of the case.

　　The Taiwan Fisheries Agency further stated that fishing vessel “JIN XX No. 66” was approved to land its catch on January 11^th, 2021; however, the vessel operator, without the Agency’s permission, conducted the landing of Blue Shark catch on January 8^th. Immediately after being informed of the fact, the Agency sent personnel to the landing site and supervised the landing throughout. The landed catch of Blue Shark belly and the shark fins greatly outweighed the catch of Blue Shark. It is estimated that, the sharks, which were caught and discarded, weighed up to 134,180 kilograms. Consequently, the vessel operator was fined NTD 2.5 million (USD 83,333) and the fishing license is suspended for 16 months. Moreover, as the operator had admitted that the landing was conducted without government’s approval, another fine of NTD 2 million (USD 66,667) was also imposed .

　　“Combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is a standing policy of the government. As one of the primary nations utilizing fishery resources worldwide, in order to ensure the sustainability of the fishery resources and meet the international management standards, the government has transformed relevant conservation measures adopted in regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs) into domestic legislation,” expressed the Taiwan Fisheries Agency. It has been four years since the implementation of the Act for Distant Water Fisheries; the Taiwan Fisheries Agency calls on the practitioners of Taiwanese distant water fisheries to obediently follow domestic regulations and the conservation measures adopted by RFMOs and fulfill their responsibilities.

　　　　Contact Person: Deputy Director-General Mr. Kuo-Ping Lin

　　　　E-mail: kuoping@ms1.fa.gov.tw　

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