VZCZCXYZ0008
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #3381/01 2720946
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290946Z SEP 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2398
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5718
RUEHWN/AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN 0055
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 8133
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 8075
RUEHTN/AMCONSUL CAPE TOWN 0077
RUCPDOC/DEPT OF COMMERCE WASHDC

UNCLAS AIT TAIPEI 003381 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
 
 
DEPT FOR OES/OMC; COMMERCE FOR NOAA/NMFS DENIT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EFIS ETRD SENV ICCAT TW
SUBJECT: ICCAT CHAIR WEIGHS TAIWAN'S PROSPECTS 
 
REF: 05 TAIPEI 4832 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: International Commission on Conservation of 
Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) Chairman William Hogarth and advisors 
met with Taiwan officials on September 22 to discuss Taiwan's 
progress in meeting ICCAT recommendations to reduce its 
fishing capacity.  Taiwan officials presented data to support 
their efforts to abide by the ICCAT requirements and hoped 
that their pre-2005 fishing quota would be restored.  Hogarth 
was pleased with the progress made since the last ICCAT 
meeting, but was guarded in his views on how much quota ICCAT 
would likely allocate Taiwan this time.  He urged tighter 
control of Taiwan's fishing fleet and better data management 
to ensure compliance with ICCAT regulations.  End Summary. 
 
 
COA AND MOFA HOPE TO RESTORE FISHING QUOTA 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) William Hogarth, current chair of ICCAT and 
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries at the National Marine 
Fisheries Service (NMFS), met Taiwan officials on September 
22 to discuss it progress to comply with ICCAT recommendation 
05-02 requiring Taiwan reduce its fishing capacity. 
Accompanying Hogarth were Kelly Denit, NMFS office of 
International Affairs, Robert Hayes, U.S. Recreational 
Commissioner to ICCAT, Randi Parks Thomas, U.S. Commercial 
Commissioner to ICCAT and AIT Econoff. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Hogarth first met Vice-Minister Lee Jen-Chyuan of 
the Council on Agriculture (parent agency of the Fisheries 
Agency).  Lee said Taiwan has made serious efforts to control 
the size of its fishing fleet as evidenced by scrapping of 
excess vessels and implementation of fishery management 
measures, including stationing observers on ships and at 
ports to conduct inspections.  Lee said Taiwan had sent 
inspection teams to Capetown and Las Palmas to check on the 
activities of its fishing boats.  Hogarth said he was pleased 
with Taiwan's enforcement efforts in the Caribbean where 23 
Taiwan vessels (ranging from 20-24 meters in length) operate 
under the St. Vincent flag, and one under Panamanian flag. 
 
¶4. (SBU) At the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Hogarth met with 
Vice-minister Yang Tzu-pao and International Organizations 
Chief John Chen.  They both reiterated COA's concern about 
Taiwan being able to restore its big-eye tuna quota at the 
next meeting.  Hogarth urged Taiwan to continue to work on 
compliance issues and said he is willing to work with Taiwan 
to help organize technical exchanges, workshops on fishing 
capacity workshops, and other training programs.  Bob Hayes 
noted he heard from some fellow ICCAT members that although 
Taiwan was not a full member, it was occupying much of the 
ICCAT agenda.  Therefore, he and Hogarth both felt that 
Taiwan's voluntary contribution to ICCAT's funding was 
appreciated by the membership.  (Note:  Taiwan pays a little 
more than half what full members pay.  End note.) 
 
GOOD PROGRESS ON BOAT SCRAPPING 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Hogarth also met with Fisheries Agency(FA) staff and 
reviewed their progress over the last year.  FA 
Director-General Shieh Dah-wen listed steps Taiwan has taken 
to meet ICCAT recommendation 05-02.  Foremost was Taiwan's 
progress in dismantling 160 fishing vessels.  To date, 70 
vessels have been scrapped, an additional 42 vessels have 
been earmarked for reef building, leaving 48 vessels to be 
scrapped by the end of the year.  Better monitoring of Taiwan 
vessels will also be possible with the required installation 
of Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) on all of its high-seas 
fishing vessels.  This system not only allows vessel tracking 
but also lets the ships communicate with the ports and report 
fish catch volume.  Shieh also reported that Taiwan's 
Legislative Yuan has approved a five-year budget to 
strengthen fisheries management. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Hogarth stressed the need for more complete data on 
fish catches and noted that the Japanese wanted a breakdown 
of species on the inspection forms.  Hogarth brought up 
Canadian concerns that Taiwan had allegedly built 300 new 
boats of under 24 meters length in the last 18 months and 
were using them under flags of convenience.  Shieh denied 
these allegations, and said that the FA will provide data to 
prove them groundless. 
 
RESTORATION OF FULL FISHING QUOTA UNLIKELY 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶7. (SBU) The FA screened a video presentation to demonstrate 
Taiwan's progress in reducing its fishing capacity since the 
last ICCAT meeting.  Hogarth said it was a well-prepared 
presentation that should be shown at the next ICCAT meeting. 
Shieh said that Taiwan hoped to have its tuna fishing quota 
restored to its original level.  Hogarth said that Taiwan 
could hope for a partial restoration of its quota depending 
on how ICCAT received their supporting documentation.  NMFS 
personnel told Taiwan that one of the important aspects in 
ICCAT's consideration on how much quota to allocate Taiwan 
rested on Taiwan's ability to formulate sound fishery plans 
for the future. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Based on the presentations made at the meeting, 
Taiwan has indeed made progress since the 2005 ICCAT meeting. 
 However, all efforts seemed geared toward meeting the ICCAT 
recommendations from 2005.  A long term plan for Taiwan 
fisheries was not evident, raising questions whether the 
current measures will be sustainable in the long run.   End 
Comment. 
 
WANG 
 
WANG