EU removes Taiwan from illegal fishery watch list

The European Union has removed Taiwan from a list of nations involved in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The EU said the decision recognized the reforms Taiwan has made to tackle illegal fishing over the last three and a half years. The Tsai administration said that coming off the watch list had positive implications for Taiwan''s fisheries exports.President Tsai Ing-wen took to Facebook with the good news: The EU had lifted a yellow card for illegal fishing it had placed on Taiwan. Premier Su Tseng-chang weighed in as well.Su Tseng-changPremierThe EU has lifted our distant-water fishing yellow card, which has implications for the NT$40 billion fisheries industry. This is a truly great breakthrough. In 2015 Taiwan was reported on suspicions of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The EU had imposed a yellow card on Taiwan, placing it at risk of a red card if substantive improvements were not made. A red card would have made it impossible for Taiwan to sell fish in Europe. After Tsai took office in 2016, laws were amended to set heavier fines for illegal fishing activity, with the maximum raised to NT$30 million. The legislation prompted fishermen to take to the streets.Despite the backlash, officials enforced the new laws and stepped up their monitoring. They ensured all catches could be traced and strengthened international cooperation, bringing about the end of EU sanctions.Hsieh Lung-wenFish vendorEveryone is very happy. Output value should go up.The Tsai administration says its next goal is to bring Taiwanese pork out from the shadow of foot-and-mouth disease that has hampered exports for 22 years. Su Tseng-changPremierIf we are able to lift the epidemic control restrictions on Taiwan, then meat exports to Japan alone would be worth NT$55 billion.Taiwanese farmers stopped vaccinating their pigs for foot-and-mouth disease last July 1. To date, there has not been a single reported case of the disease in the hog industry. In just two more days, Taiwan will be eligible for removal from a list of epidemic zones. Taiwan could be off the list as early as next May.