Taiwan uses a satellite observation system to keep an eye on the worldwide activities of its fishing fleet 24 hours a day, the United Daily News reported Wednesday (September 18).
The tough new attitude of the Taiwanese authorities was reportedly the result of the country’s successful campaign to see the European Union lift its yellow card against the country last June.
The end came almost four years after the body first imposed the measure as a warning against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by Taiwan’s long-distance fishing fleet, the second largest in the world.
Inside a building on Taipei City’s Heping West Road, a group of 25 people are peering at a map of the world, where the position is marked of every out of 1,200 Taiwanese fishing trawlers, according to the United Daily News.
The fishing crews had to report back about the size of their catch and to make sure they did not stray into other countries’ exclusive fishing zones.
The Council of Agriculture said the monitoring system was the most rigorous in the world to make sure the fishing sector did not return to its old ways and saddle the country with international sanctions.
Not only the fishing was coming under closer observation, but also the human rights of the fishing crews, the United Daily News report said.
By Taiwan News
