probably have financial backing from Taiwan 

 companies and fish the same grounds as the Taiwan 

 fleet. 



Projection for Squid Jiggers 



Effort in this fishery should increase slightly. The 

 primary reason for this increase would be the 

 introduction of Chinese effort in tliis fishery, while the 

 effort by the other three Asian distant-water fleets 

 should remain the same. 



Although the demise of the driftnet fishery may 

 make more vessels available for this fishery, the 

 economics of this fishery (e.g. high costs of distant- 

 water jigging with aging driftnet vessels, limited 

 demand for increased squid supply) mitigate against 

 significant expansion. It seems more likely that current 

 Asian participants in the distant-water jigging fishery 

 will explore various ways, such as joint ventures, and 

 fishing in new grounds with comparatively low access 

 fees, to find the most cost-effective way to obtain 

 squid. 



C. Driftnet Vessels 



The United Nations moratoriimi on high-seas 

 pelagic driftnet fishing has eliminated one of the major 

 Asian distant-water fleets. All three participants in this 

 fishery (Japan, tlie ROK, and Taiwan) have agreed to 

 abide by tlie moratorium and have initiated conversion 

 programs. These are designed to encourage alternate 

 fishing methods, (e.g. squid jigging, tuna longlining, 

 and saury fishing) or provide compensation to 

 fishermen forced to retire (usually fishermen with older 

 vessels which could not be profitably converted to 

 alternate fishing methods). To determine precisely the 

 ciurent status of former driftnet vessels is extremely 

 difficult, but no confirmed sightings of Japanese, ROK, 

 or Taiwan driftnet vessels engaging in unauthorized 

 driftnet fishing during 1993, have been reported. 



Projection for Driftnet Vessels 



Available information suggests many owners of 

 older driftnet vessels are accepting compeasation and 

 are either tying their vessels up in port or selling them 

 for scrap or for use as fishery aggregation devices. 

 Owners of newer driftnet vessels are probably 

 converting them to squid jigging or longline tuna 

 fishing. The vessels converted to squid jigging will 



probably fish in coastal Latin America waters, while 

 those converted to tuna longlining will probably fish in 

 the Indian and Pacific Oceans. 



D. Distant-water Tuna Vessels 



Longliners: Until the early 1990s, this was the one 

 sector which seemed to hold long-term promise for the 

 Asian distant-water fishing fleets. The tuna longlining 

 fleets from Japan, Taiwan, and the ROK were 

 particularly successful in catching sashimi-grade tuna 

 for the lucrative Japanese market. During the late 

 1980s and early 1990s, however, this concentration on 

 sashimi-grade tuna led to a glut on the Japanese 

 market. 



Industry officials from Japan, ROK, and Taiwan 

 have held a series of meetings and are trying to 

 regulate their vessels' fishing activities. Increased hiel 

 and labor costs had a particularly severe impact on 

 Japanese longlining companies which sold many of 

 their aging vessels to Taiwan and Korean companies. 

 These companies then registered many of these vessels 

 in so-called flag-of-convenience nations (e.g. Panama, 

 Honduras). 



Purse Seiners: This is one distant-water fishery 

 that has plausible potential for future expansion. The 

 number of Japanese, ROK, and Taiwan distant-water 

 purse seiners has increased steadily in the early 1980s 

 and may continue to do so in the mid-1990s. The 

 amount of expansion will be limited, however, by 

 market forces and efforts by coastal South Pacific 

 island nations to regulate tliis fishery which has 

 traditionally been conducted in their coastal waters. 



Projection for Tuna Vessels 



Longliners: Increased costs and depressed tuna 

 prices in tlie early 1 990s have made it possible for tuna 

 longliner fleets from developing countries such as 

 China and Indonesia to enter this sector. By the year 

 2000, diis fleet could well be dominated by Chinese 

 and Indonesian longliners with financial backing and 

 expertise provided largely by Taiwan companies. 

 Depleted stocks of nordiern and soutliern bluefin tuna 

 should result in more extensive targeting of albacore, 

 yellowfin, and bigeye tuna stocks in the southern 

 Pacific and western Indian Oceans. 



