Source: European Commission
The EU recognises Taiwan’s reforms put in place during the last three and a half years to tackle illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU).Today the European Commission decided to lift the yellow card acknowledging the progress made by Taiwan and the major upgrade of its fisheries legal and administrative systems to fight against IUU fishing.
Karmenu Vella, Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries said: “I welcome the considerable efforts undertaken by Taiwan to reform its fisheries legal framework, implement new control tools and improve the traceability of marine fisheries products. The EU’s dialogue with Taiwan has shown again that international cooperation is a key driver towards healthier ocean management.”
The EU is committed to the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and is working with countries across the world to that end. After the issuing of the yellow card in October 2015, the European Commission, on behalf of the EU, and Taiwan have engaged in three and a half years of intense cooperation and dialogue.
As a result of that cooperation, Taiwanese authorities now have a broad range of modern and efficient tools to fight IUU fishing in place. This is a major step forward, given that Taiwan’s long distance fleet is the second largest in the world, and therefore plays a central role in the international supply chain for fisheries products. Taiwan has also reinforced obligations imposed on Taiwanese operators owning fishing vessels flagged to third countries.
To keep building on these achievements, the Commission will propose the establishment of a dedicated IUU Working Group. This forum will allow both sides to maintain a close cooperation on matters relating to the fight against IUU fishing, including at the multilateral, regional and sub-regional levels.
In addition, the EU and Taiwan will continue addressing labour conditions in the fishing sector in the framework of their human rights consultations.
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