The citizen rescues the white belt fish to work! The Fisheries Department revised the draft of leucorrhoea fish marketing, participated in the investigation team, and proposed management measures at the end of the year.

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A few days ago, the Council of Agriculture announced the "Draft for the Transportation and Sale of White Hairtail Ships" to provoke discussion. In just three days, more than 5,000 people poured in to ask for suspension of implementation. Chen Jizhong, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, personally went to the firing line and held a symposium for three consecutive weeks to collect opinions from citizen groups and experts. On the 23rd, he proposed the revised version of the latest draft "Measures for the Production and Marketing of White Hairtail along the Offshore Sea and the Operation of Fishing Vessels". If you are willing to operate a white hairtail transportation and fishing association, you need to submit a" business plan" and a" management plan." Regardless of the size of the voyage, it is necessary to declare the loading and unloading volume and transaction information one by one in order to master the catch statistics.

The Fisheries Department will bring together officials and academics to form an Advisory Group on Scientific Investigation of White Hairtail and an Advisory Group on the Marketing of White Hairtail to conduct scientific and resource surveys, assess the total amount or proportion of white hairtail sold domestically and to formulate reasonable management measures. The civic groups agreed that, in the absence of clear information and taking into account the needs of fishermen, the draft should be put on the road first, and then the two advisory groups should formulate detailed management rules by the end of the year to ensure the sustainability of resources.

Li Qiting, convener of the National Habitat Committee of the Wilderness Conservation Association, said frankly that the public responded enthusiastically to the white hairtail issue more than expected, indicating that people are very sensitive to the phenomenon of overfishing along the offshore. This revision of fishery policy through citizen participation is of great indicative significance and has set a milestone in the process of fishery management in China.

A white hairtail caught along the coast in China is smaller than in the past. (Photo provided/Xu Chengyu) Fishing boats at all levels transport white hairtail, all of which need to be controlled to declare trading volume

In order to coordinate various disputes arising from the liberalization of white hairtail transportation, the Council of Agriculture held three forums in succession. The discussion content expanded from the original focus on "whether to open white hairtail transportation vessels" to guidance on the production and marketing of white hairtail and scientific investigation. The Fisheries Department stressed that it would require stricter declaration of fish unloading along offshore species.

Wang Chengfang, deputy director of the Fisheries Department, said that fishing vessels along the coastal waters are required to declare their landings, but small fishing vessels below 10 tons are not subject to this restriction. In the white hairtail fishing ground, trawling is common along the southwest coast, while sea fishing is the majority in the northeast. It is difficult to calculate the catch of many small fishing vessels. Taking this opportunity, we require all white hairtail fishing vessels participating in direct sailing, regardless of their size, to "declare the loading and unloading volume and transaction information of each export voyage." As with small fishing vessels and recreational fishing vessels, catch statistics and scientific research are facilitated.

In the latest revision of the Draft Measures for the Production and Marketing of White Hairtail and the Transportation of Fishing Vessels along the Offshore Sea, all fishing associations in all regions of the country can apply for the transportation of white hairtail as long as they have the will, and are not limited to the northeast sea area. The fishing associations related to Southwest and Penghu can apply if they have the will (fishermen must be limited to fishing associations, and ordinary people are not allowed to operate).

Subsequently, it is necessary to submit the "white hairtail joint transportation and marketing business plan"(including the total amount or proportion of domestic and foreign sales, sales flow direction) and the "handling operation management plan"(including the list of ships, the list of ships, the description of loading and unloading and transportation shifts, loading and unloading ports, and voyage planning). The management method also excludes the previous guidance to determine the list of fishing associations by drawing lots, and will be evaluated and reviewed by the central government. The number of fishing associations and fishing vessels opened will not be set for the time being, and the license period will be limited to two years.

Set up a scientific investigation, production and marketing advisory group for white hairtail, and put forward management suggestions at the end of the year

In addition, the Fisheries Department will soon convene an advisory group on the scientific investigation of white hairtail and an advisory group on the production and marketing of white hairtail. The former will conduct a scientific investigation of white hairtail, including population research, resource assessment and formulation of relevant conservation measures, while the latter will assess the total amount or proportion of domestic and foreign sales against the management system, establish a suitable trading platform for catches and promote the declaration of white hairtail landings.

Chen Chi-chung, chairman of the Council of Agriculture, said that the final revision of the draft content has been completed at the three consultation meetings, and the follow-up will be reported to the Executive Yuan and formally announce the management measures. The two advisory groups will also put forward relevant management suggestions before the end of the year based on the current data of unloading fish and the evaluation of resources."Measures and methods on how to sustain resources will be provided so that the management measures can be implemented in place."

The ship can only carry white hairtail. The fishing association has to evaluate its own operation efficiency.

Although the carrier can sail all year round, the peak operation period of white hairtail fishing boats is usually only half a year. Chen Chunsheng, director general of the Suao Fishery Association, suggested that direct sailing vessels should be allowed to fish when they are not engaged in white hairtail transportation. He stressed that "the loss of half a year's operation is not allowed to be imposed on fishermen." In response to this, Wang Zhengfang responded that the management measures clearly stipulated that "only white hairtail can be carried" and should not be used for other purposes. The fishing association needs to consider the operation benefit of the off-peak period before assessing whether to apply.

Huantuan: Agree to go first, implementation is the most important

Hsu Cheng-yu, founder of the Responsible Fisheries Index at the meeting, said that because the Fisheries Administration promised to tighten the implementation of the declaration of offshore fish unloading, and expected to propose specific management measures by the end of the year, the meeting members generally reached a consensus of "opening up the road first, then studying the management details." "If we don't strictly control it, the catch of the mini three links will continue to be exported. However, the reality (official) still can't come up with management measures. We can only decide to give the advisory group a few more months to prepare and propose a solution before the end of the year. It can be regarded as the result of consultation on the spot."

He thinks this is a good opportunity to use the white hairtail policy to review the overall domestic catch statistics."Although the domestic government has promoted the declaration of unloading fish since 2015, the effect is actually limited, otherwise there will be no situation where the domestic market (trading volume) is only three or four thousand tons, but the export volume is as high as more than 13,000 tons."

Li Qiting, convener of the National Habitat Committee of the Wildlife Conservation Association, said,"The position of concern has not changed," but the current domestic survey data of white hairtail resources are not available, and there is a lack of understanding of the breeding grounds and breeding periods of white hairtail. At present, it is impossible to talk about how to set up closed fishing areas and closed fishing seasons, or advise fishermen to avoid fishing in breeding seasons and fishing capacity ceilings. After considering the realistic difficulties and fishermen's needs, we have to make concessions first. However, the Environmental Group will continue to monitor the government and make sure to put forward suggestions on the production and marketing management of white hairtail and scientific investigation data before the end of the year.

Chen Jui-pin, secretary general of the Environmental Information Center, who also participated in the white hairtail conference, said that Taiwan's offshore fishing declarations have not been accurate enough."The white hairtail has already been overfished, and now it may be even more harmful (resources) through the transfer of ships. What we care about is the depletion of fishing resources and how to balance domestic and foreign sales."

White hairtail is caught at night. In the future, fishing boats at all levels will need to take tubes to catch white hairtail. Fishermen feel that the origin price of white hairtail shrinks year by year

In response to the white hairtail craze in China, discussions have been triggered, and Taiwanese people have recalled the past memories of this "copper plate delicacy". In the past white hairtail was a common dish on the table, but in recent years domestic white hairtail has become rare and expensive. Not only do people feel it, but fishermen who rely on the sea for their livelihood generally feel that "there seems to be less big white hairtail," says Captain Hong of Penghu. In the past there were many white hairtail, and they were all very big. About ten years ago, they began to decrease. Half of the white hairtail caught in the past were more than three fingers wide, but now they are only about 20% wide.

The secretary of the Tzukuan District Fishery Association in Kaohsiung City, which is located on the southwest coast, says that white hairtail can be caught all year round, except that winter is the peak season and catches are more abundant. In recent years, the number of catches has indeed decreased, and the thickness and width of fish bodies have also shrunk."The catch and size of white hairtail are very different."

Captain Zhang Fengyi, who has 30 years of fishing experience operating Jiyang fishing boats in the north, laments that "there is no way back" when he mentions the catch. In the past, five or six fingers wide large-tailed white hairtail is very common, now generally three or four fingers wide below, the number is declining year by year. Fishing room usually to "refrigerator number" to calculate fishing results, in the past a box of 100 liters capacity of small refrigerator can be filled with about 130-150 white hairtail (about 60-70 catties), a person can catch 2 boxes a night,"now all count, a night there are 40,50 catties even severe."

Fishermen responded that in recent years, the number of white hairtail has decreased, and the catch is not as abundant as in the past. (Provided/Zhang Fengyi)

Data collation/Xu Chengyu Chinese market "big and small eat" white hairtail business opportunity or crisis?

Behind the warning of "fewer fish and smaller fish", it is attributed to the display of huge business opportunities. China's demand for white hairtail is increasing. Even if it catches more than 1 million tons a year, it still falls short of demand. It still has to rely on imported supply. Even the small-tailed white hairtail, which Taiwan does not like to eat and has low economic value, is scrambling for it.

The price of white hairtail has risen, and more and more people have invested in fishing. In the past, the number of white hairtail exported to China has doubled year by year."It is because there is demand and profit that some people try their best to catch white hairtail. Many fishing boats changed to catch white hairtail a few years ago, because white hairtail is offshore, so there won't be a lot of oil money going out to sea every day. The cost is low and the price is good. Some fishing boats don't even return to Hong Kong. They trade directly at sea, which is better." A Wen, a cadre of the Northern Fishermen's Association, revealed his observation on the front line.

Fishermen describe how fishing boats along Penghu and the southwestern coast began transporting white hairtail to China as early as 20 years ago, when they saw frozen containers waiting in port for fishing boats to unload and load, and then set sail immediately. Some Penghu fishing boats even traded directly at sea, and the volume of each transaction could not be underestimated. They point out that the resources have been shrinking year by year since then, and the proportion of sales in the northeastern coast should have increased in recent years. White hairtail policy and resources will be concerned.

Captain Cai from Tainan deeply felt that the price of white hairtail has improved a lot in recent years."More than ten years ago, the market was 200-300 yuan per catty, and too small fish could only be sold for feed at a low price. Now (one catty) they all shout more than 400 yuan."