3) prior to December 31, 1992, provision for 

 driftnet vessel owners to use tlieir driftnet 

 vessel construction quota for construction of 

 tuna purse seiners iiaving at least 1 ,OOOGRT, 

 and 



4) creation of a special fund to promote 

 consumption of species caught by alternative 

 fishing methods (e.g. .squid, tuna, and saury). 

 Taiwan officials reportedly have bought-back 

 76 older driftnet vessels which have been used 

 as artificial reefs along the southern coast, and 

 financed gear conversion for 18 vessels, with 

 54 additional loan applications under review." 



In accordance with the UNGA Resolution 46/215, 

 Taiwan liceased 64 North Pacific (half the 1991 total) 

 and 31 Indian Ocean (one-third the 1991 total) drifinet 

 vessels in 1992. Taiwan officials amiounced on 

 December 9, 1992, that no Taiwan driftnet vessels 

 would be liceased in 1993. As of November 1 1 , 1992, 

 no driftnet vessels were permitted to apply for port 

 clearance for distant-water fisheries. The 64 North 

 Pacific driftnet vessels were required to return to 

 Taiwan for inspection by December 15, 1992. The 31 

 Indian Ocean vessels were required to cease fishing and 

 return to Taiwan by December 31, 1992, or call at the 

 ports of Singapore and Cape Town, South Africa, for 

 inspection to ensure that driftnet equipment and gear 

 have been dismantled and properly disposed. These 

 ves.sels may continue fishing by other methods in the 

 Indian Ocean or the southwestern Atlantic only after 

 inspection. 



The .lapanese tuna industry has been concerned that 

 many fonner Taiwan driftnet vessels would be 

 converted to tuna longlining, thus exacerbating the 

 continuing problem of i>\ersupply on the Japanese 

 Sashimi tuna market. Taiwan has assured Japan that 

 any former driftnet vessels converted to tuna longlining 

 would be older vessels based in Taiwan because of 

 their dated ammonia-freezing technology. Newer 

 driftnet vessels were expected to be converted to squid 

 jigging. '- 



With the advent of liie traditional May-September 

 North Pacific driftnet season in 1993, there have been 

 press reports which claim that Taiwan driftnet vessels 

 may still be fishing." However, there have not been 

 any confirmed cases of drifinet fishing by Taiwan-flag 

 vessels durini: the 1993 season. 



D. Distant -water Tuna Vessels 



Taiwan distant-water tuna vessels began fishing in 

 the 1960s. Until the mid-1970s, the majority of the 

 catch was exported to the international tuna caiuiing 

 industry. Low prices for canned tuna and the 

 development of ultra-low temperature freezing 

 technology during the mid- 1 970s provided Taiwan witli 

 the impetus to initiate an ultra-low temperature tuna 

 freezing longliner fleet which continues to be Taiwan's 

 most lucrative distant-water tuna fishing fleet. This 

 fleet is capable of catching and storing large amounts 

 of high-quality sashimi-grade tuna for export to the 

 lucrative Japanese sashimi market.'^ 



Taiwan distant-water tuna vessels employ two 

 fishing methods: longlining and purse seining. 



Longliners: The Taiwan distant-water longlining 

 fleet (larger than lOOGRT) increased during the 1980s, 

 peaking at 841 vessels in 1990. Figures for 1991 

 indicate a decrease to 759 vessels (appendix B). 

 Taiwan longliners fish in the Atlantic, Pacific, and 

 Indian Oceans, with the majority of the catch consisting 

 of albacore tuna. The Taiwan Distant-water Fisheries 

 Association reported in June 1992 the following 

 breakdown for 650 Taiwan distant-water tuna vessels 

 affiliated with the Association: 313 freezer longliners 

 (400-700GRT vessels equipped with super low- 

 temperature freezers for sashimi tuna production). 216 

 albacore longliners. 46 purse seiners, and 75 driftnet 

 vessels. According to the Association, all Taiwan 

 distant-water longliner owners are members of the 

 Association, indicating Taiwan official figures cited 

 above (759 vessels) may include over 100 tuna 

 longliners engaged in coastal operations.''^ 



In the Atlantic Ocean, 149 Taiwan longliners 

 fished for tuna in 1990. The number of Taiwan 

 longliners in the Atlantic Ocean has varied between 1 10 

 and 150 since 1987 (appendix H). The majority of the 

 longliners are 201-500GRT class vessels with the 

 number of larger longliners (over 500GRT) increasing 

 to an all-time high of 50 in 1990."^ Approximately 80 

 of these longliners are actually based in this region, the 

 home ports for the rest remain in Taiwan. Taiwan 

 vessels active in the North Atlantic are based in Las 

 Palmas (Spain). St. Martin (Trinidad), and in St. 

 Lucia, while vessels active in the South Atlantic are 

 based in Cape Town (South Africa), and Montevideo 

 (Uruguay)." 



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