Thousands of fishermen were dissatisfied with the stringent law enforcement and protested against nine major demands. AFD: it would not be better if the European Union awarded a red card.

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Thousands of fishermen are dissatisfied with the exorbitant fines imposed by the three fisheries laws and the government's stringent enforcement of the law, and plan to go northward to protest next week. The Fisheries Department (AFD) held an emergency press conference this (31) morning to respond. Li Tuizhi, vice chairman of the Council of Agriculture, stressed that punishment imposed by the Fisheries Department in accordance with the law is by no means excessive or excessive, and it is aimed at recidivism and serious violations.

In response to the demands put forward by fishermen, the Fisheries Department said that it has agreed to simplify the declaration of fish unloading and the declaration procedures for the employment of overseas crew, reduce the waiting period for overseas crew to 3 months (originally 6 months), and exempt small ocean fishing vessels of less than 10 tons from installing position returns, etc., and promised to strengthen sea patrol to ensure the safety of fishing vessels. As for fishermen's demands for a reduction in fines and regulations for the management of returns on fishing vessels, the Fisheries Department said that it could not agree to the relaxation, stressing that Taiwan should abide by international conventions and be in line with international norms in order to help the sustainable development of Taiwan's fishing industry.

The Council of Agriculture cannot accept the appeal part of the self-help Society (provided by chart / Fisheries Department)

Wang Xinzhan, president of the self-help Association: laws and regulations are not close to the operational needs of fishermen

Wang Xinzhan, president and director-general of fishermen's self-help Association, stressed that the purpose of launching the protest was to defend the work rights and interests of fishermen, not political operation. He said that the working environment at sea is very different from that on land, there will be many emergencies, and the government does not apply strict laws to deal with hard-working fishermen.

He directly criticized that the laws and regulations did not meet the actual operational needs of fishermen, and hoped that the government would listen more to the wishes of fishermen. For example, he believes that foreign fishermen only need to work for a few months a year, they can rest at other times, the Labor Law does not apply, and separate regulations on marine labor operations should be made. He also stressed that most captains are very friendly to fishermen. Will be given a proper rest, will not owe wages In addition, considering that the sales channels and handling methods of fish bodies and fins may be different, fishermen usually place them separately after fishing, so I hope that the Government can relax the control of shark fins, but clarify that it is by no means an act of "fin-cutting".

"without persuasion or direct punishment, the government has imposed a fine of NT $1,000 or NT $2 million at a time, who can bear it?" Wang Xinzhan said that excessive penalties have affected the livelihood of fishermen, and they have to be fined for everything, making fishermen nervous. He also stressed that fishermen do not fail to comply with the laws and regulations. It is just that many fishermen are older, and they need time to adapt to the new law and even more need government guidance.

Will the EU come to Taiwan to remove the yellow card? AFD: no answer yet

A few days ago, the EU Fisheries Group sent personnel to Taiwan to be concerned about the situation of the ROC's offshore fishing industry. Lin Guoping, Deputy Director of Fisheries, said that EU representatives came to Taiwan for a meeting with the Fisheries Department to discuss the overall system of fishing. In order to demonstrate its determination to cooperate with the international crackdown on IUU, the Fisheries Department has indicated that it will not only strictly implement the three laws on fisheries, but will also prohibit the import of illegal fishing goods from abroad into Taiwan in the future. "We ourselves cannot break the law, and at the same time, we have to resist international IUU." the amendment to Article 14-1 of the Offshore Fisheries regulations, which involves the contents of the regulations, has now been sent to the Legislative Yuan for deliberation. Lin Guoping pointed out that the European Union affirms Taiwan's move. However, it did not say whether to resolve the yellow card ban on Taiwan.

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