Taiwan and the US held discussions Thursday last week on the preservation of marine resources and the possibility of Taiwan’s participation in international fisheries organizations, the Fisheries Agency said on Saturday.
The forum, held under the Taiwan-US Fisheries Consultations, was jointly organized by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States and the American Institute in Taiwan, the agency said in a statement.
During the consultations, which were held in Taipei for the first time since 2018, the US promised to assist Taiwan in its efforts to gain international participation, while Taiwan pledged to abide by its obligations regarding international conservation of fisheries resources, the agency said.
Photo: Su Fu-nan, Taipei Times
Other issues such as climate change and cooperation between Taiwanese and US coastguards were also discussed, it said.
They also discussed recent fisheries policy developments in their respective countries, such as their efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities, regulation of on-board inspections, and the transfer of catches between vessels on the high seas, the agency said.
Prior to Thursday’s consultations, US and Taiwan officials held a working meeting the previous day to discuss the potential for bilateral cooperation on an anti-IUU fishing strategy authorized by the US’ 1997 Maritime Security and Fisheries Enforcement Act, the agency said.
Maritime law enforcement and sharing information on managing and monitoring fisheries resources were also discussed in Wednesday’s meeting, it said.
The IUU fishing might be associated with crimes and labor abuse, while it generates a shadow economy of 26 million tonnes of fish caught annually, which had an estimated annual value of US$10 billion to US$23 billion, the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) said.
In 2013, Taiwan launched the National Plan of Action to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing by fishing vessels within its jurisdiction and on the high seas.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the Taiwanese officials at the forum invited local fishers’ associations and academics to brief the US delegation on the progress made in recent years on fishers’ labor rights and sustainable fisheries, the Fisheries Agency said.
Taiwanese officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States, the Coast Guard Administration and Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended the meetings, while the US was represented by officials from its Department of State, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and coastguard, the agency said.
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