. 24/7 Space News .
WATER WORLD
Taiwan fishermen protest over crackdown on troubled industry
by Staff Writers
Taipei (AFP) Nov 6, 2018

Fishermen and their families took to the streets in Taiwan Tuesday against what they said was an unfair crackdown on the industry which has been accused of illegal practices and human rights abuses.

The rally by coastal and long-haul fishermen in the capital Taipei is the latest challenge to President Tsai Ing-wen who has already faced major protests by disgruntled military veterans and labour unions over pension and other reforms.

It comes ahead of local elections on November 24, seen as a mid-term barometer after Tsai's first two years in office.

Over a thousand people gathered outside the agriculture council building, blowing horns and throwing paper money before marching to the legislative building. Many had travelled up from the south of Taiwan where the industry is concentrated.

"I understand the need for sustainability, but government enforcement has been too tough and the fines too high," said one protester who works on a deep-sea fishing boat and gave his surname as Tsai, adding his earnings have dropped considerably since new rules were introduced.

Taiwan's billion-dollar fishing industry, which has one of the largest longline tuna fleets in the world, traditionally supports Tsai's ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).

But in the past three years it has been targeted by domestic and international agencies over poor regulation and conditions.

Taiwan has imposed tougher laws and penalties since the European Union issued the island with a "yellow card" in 2015 for "serious shortcomings" in its management of the industry.

A decision on whether that warning will be lifted is expected next month.

Tsai Bao-Hsin, head of the Liuchiu Fishermen Association of coastal fishing fleet owners, told AFP ahead of the rally that catches are shrinking.

He accused the government of kowtowing to EU demands without considering the impact on communities.

Wang Shin-chan, head of the Fishermen Self-Help Association, told AFP that penalties introduced by Taiwan's fisheries agency were too high.

"Each fine is at least one million Taiwan dollars ($32,000). Who can afford that?" he said.

A 2016 Greenpeace report described Taiwan's fishing industry, which uses thousands of migrant workers, as "out of control", with rampant labour and human rights abuses, including physical abuse and witheld payments.

The industry has also been criticised for the practice of shark finning -- where the predators' fins are sliced off and the rest of the still-living body dumped back into the ocean.

Taiwan enacted its own Distant Water Fisheries Act in 2017 to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated activities.

But in May this year a Taiwanese fishing boat became the first to be detained by the UN's labour organisation for violating its new industry rules.

The boat was detained in Cape Town, South Africa, and inspectors found a lack of documentation and poor health and safety conditions, according to the International Labour Organisation.

The owner of the ship and the captain were fined NT$3.75 million ($120,000) by Taiwan authorities when it returned to base in September.

Last month Taiwan's fisheries agency imposed a Twd$11.4 million fine ($367,000), its highest ever, on a fishing boat caught with prohibited shark species.


Related Links
Water News - Science, Technology and Politics


Thanks for being there;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5+ Billed Monthly


paypal only
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal


WATER WORLD
How to reduce the impact of shipping vessel noise on fish
Washington DC (SPX) Nov 06, 2018
The western Canadian Arctic's natural underwater soundscape has been shielded from the din of commercial shipping by the sea ice that covers the area, rendering it mostly inaccessible to shipping vessels. But with large amounts of ice shrinking in the Arctic Ocean, a growing number of ships are gaining access to the area. This trend is expected to accelerate. One concern with vessel transits is how noise pollution can detrimentally affect marine animals - including Arctic cod - given the critical ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

WATER WORLD
Russia plans first manned launch to ISS Dec 3 after accident

Thrusters with additively manufactured components qualified to fly humans on Orion spacecraft

Plant hormone makes space farming a possibility

Installing life support the hands-free way

WATER WORLD
Rocket Lab enters high frequency launch operations

NASA conducts a 'BOO-tiful' RS-25 engine test

Soyuz launch failed due to assembly problem: Russia

All RS-25 flight controllers delivered for first four flights of NASA's SLS rocket

WATER WORLD
Five things to know about InSight's Mars landing

Naturally occurring 'batteries' fueled organic carbon synthesis on Mars

NASA launches a new podcast to Mars

NASA will keep trying to contact stalled Mars rover Opportunity

WATER WORLD
China's space programs open up to world

China's commercial aerospace companies flourishing

China launches Centispace-1-s1 satellite

China tests propulsion system of space station's lab capsules

WATER WORLD
How Max Polyakov from Zaporozhie develops the Ukrainian space industry

SpaceFund launches the world's first space security token to fund the opening of the high frontier

ESA on the way to Space19+ and beyond

Ministers endorse vision for the future of Europe in space

WATER WORLD
NUS researchers turn plastic bottle waste into ultralight supermaterial

Physicists name and codify new field in nanotechnology: 'electron quantum metamaterials'

Bose-Einstein condensate generated in space for the first time

Super-computer brings 'cloud' to astronauts in space

WATER WORLD
NASA retires Kepler Space Telescope, passes planet-hunting torch

Rocky and habitable - sizing up a galaxy of planets

Some planetary systems just aren't into heavy metal

Giant planets around young star raise questions about how planets form

WATER WORLD
SwRI team makes breakthroughs studying Pluto orbiter mission

ALMA maps temperature of Jupiter's icy moon Europa

NASA's Juno Mission Detects Jupiter Wave Trains

WorldWide Telescope looks ahead to New Horizons' Ultima Thule glyby









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.