The foreign ministry says diplomats are in contact with EU officials about changes to Taiwan’s fisheries laws passed on Tuesday.
Last year, a Taiwanese fishing vessel was caught illegally trawling for tuna and carrying shark fins in international waters near Papua New Guinea. The European Commission responded by issuing Taiwan with a “yellow card”.
The European Commission told Taiwan that it risked being placed on a list of uncooperative countries in the effort to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The commission recently said that failure to improve fishing practices could see Taiwan receive a “red card” and face EU trade sanctions.
Taiwan’s newly passed statutes on deep sea fishing impose penalties on 19 offenses, including operating without a license, falsifying catch data, catching protected species, entering the territorial waters of other countries without permission, and refusing inspections. In addition to steep fines, violators also face having their licenses revoked.