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CGA allowing Chinese illegal fishing: groups
By Chung Li-hua and Jake Chung / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Fishing association officials accused the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) of failing to uphold sovereignty over maritime territory, reportedly because of orders to maintain cross-strait relations, alleging that Chinese fishermen have been seen fishing within the nation’s waters without penalty.
The increasing number of Chinese boats fishing within Taiwanese territory has heavily affected fishery income and caused prices for seafood to increase by 10 percent from January to this month, the officials said.
National Fishermen’s Association board member Lin Shih-chieh (林士傑) accused the coast guard of being afraid to enforce punitive measures on Chinese ships that were operating illegally.
Lin said the reluctance was due to pressure exerted by officials to maintain cross-strait relations.
More than 100 Chinese ships routinely operate in Taiwanese waters, Lin added.
The ships commonly net between 100 and 200 tonnes of fish, and some even stay in the area for a long time, having supply ships service them, Lin said, adding that due to huge profits, fines the coast guard says are being enforced amount to barely a slap on the wrist.
Penghu District Fisheries Association secretary-general Tsai Yueh-chiao (蔡月嬌) said her association often receives complaints over alleged illegal fishing.
Last month, the Penghu association discovered two Chinese ships fishing within the nation’s territory after the enforced cessation of Chinese fishing concluded on Aug. 1, Tsai said.
In March, five coast guard personnel were involved in an incident with Chinese fishermen after boarding the Chinese boats to conduct an inspection only for the vessels to begin to return to China.
The officers were only able to leave the boats after the coast guard sent more ships five hours later.
The fishery association officials said four coast guard staff allegedly accepted bribes from Chinese fishermen.
The four were indicted in July.
These incidents are proof of the decreasing deterrence the coast guard has in maritime disputes between Taiwan and China, the officials said.
According to National Taiwan University law professor Chiang Huang-chih (姜皇池), China believes that exclusive economic zones involves issues of sovereignty and so it refused to discuss such issues with Taiwan due to its “one China” principle.
This is why there are gray areas in terms of legal jurisdiction and operational areas for fishing, he said, adding that it is also why maritime territory to the west of the nation and near Penghu have become Chinese fishing areas.
While Chinese ships were rarely seen in waters to the east of Taiwan in the past, in recent years there have been sightings of Chinese ships even as far as Suao (蘇澳), Chiang said.
While the a vessel’s navigation rights do touch on sovereignty issues, fishing rights can be discussed with China, Chiang said, adding that Beijing is forcing its way into Taiwan’s fishing industry.
“The coast guard should take a page from Japan’s book and instead of driving the ships away, seize the ships or impose severe fines,” Chiang said.
The coast guard should not hesitate over confiscating ships simply because of potential problems caused by having to deport Chinese fishermen, Chiang said, adding that if the coast guard did take a tougher stance with Chinese ships, then none would be willing to cross into Taiwanese territory.
The coast guard said its statistics showed that in 2010 the agency fined more than 9,199 Chinese fishing vessels that were operating illegally, adding that the numbers dropped to 2,318 last year, a decrease of 75 percent.
The number of Chinese ships it has driven away dropped by 80 percent over the same period.
Since the amendment to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (台灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) in 2012, the coast guard has the authority to fine Chinese ships operating in Taiwanese waters, which has contributed to the decreasing numbers of ships, it said.
It added that fines collected from Chinese ships last year amounted to NT$50 million (US$1.6 million).
source: Taipei Times
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