Japan, China, Taiwan team up to preserve eel stocks 合作防止鰻苗遭濫捕

 

 

鰻苗走私港日 鰻農無魚可養

• 2013-01-04
• 中國時報
• 徐子晴、黃菁菁／綜合報導

　▲鰻魚養殖業者指不肖業者將鰻魚苗走私到香港及日本，造成台灣無鰻可養的窘境。圖為宜蘭縣壯圍東港海邊鰻苗「大出」，吸引近千民眾下海捕撈。（本報資料照片）

　鰻魚是高價魚種，鰻苗尤其珍貴。但鰻魚養殖業者昨天舉行記者會指出，有不肖業者將魚苗 走私到價格較高的日本，漁民叫苦連天，政府卻無罰則。日本方面則有消息指出，日本水產廳與台灣、中國大陸的水產當局已達成聯手防止濫捕鰻魚的協議，三方最 快自五月起可共享捕撈量、養殖量、貿易量等詳細資料。
　現在是鰻魚魚苗捕獲季，台灣漁民卻無魚可養！台灣區鰻魚發展基金會董事長郭瓊英表示，每年台灣沿海地區可捕獲二到八噸魚苗，但因不肖業者違法將鰻 魚苗走私到日本、香港等鰻魚苗價格高漲地區，造成國內魚苗太少、價格水漲船高，從一尾七○元飆漲至一尾一七○元，漁民「無魚可養」困境，叫苦連天。鰻魚一 年產值也由過去的兩百億元，跌落至現在的六十億元。
　郭瓊英說，希望政府能將鰻苗留在台灣，也請政府相關單位加強緝私，嚴加禁止管制出口，「讓大家有口飯吃」。
　陪同漁民舉行記者會的民進黨立委陳明文指出，懲治走私條例第二條僅規範農業進口，走私魚苗沒有任何罰則，去年十二月抓到鰻苗走私案件，僅罰二二○萬元，且最後由業者購回，沒有任何嚇阻效果。
　日本《讀賣新聞》則有報導指出，日本銷售的鰻魚約六成來自台灣、中國大陸，為求穩定供貨，台、日、中的水產當局已達成共識，將合作防止鰻苗遭濫捕。
　漁業署研究員陳汾蘭也表示，已成立跨部會小組研議魚苗保育、罰則問題，也請法務部修訂懲治走私條例，訂定走私者刑責，遏阻走私行為。

 

Japan, China, Taiwan team up to preserve eel stocks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

The Fisheries Agency and its counterparts in China and Taiwan have agreed to work together to prevent the overfishing of Japanese eel.
The three authorities decided to take joint countermeasures to protect Nihon unagi, or Japanese eel, for their mutual benefit. Japan, which is a major eel consumer, imports 60 percent of its supply of the fish from China and Taiwan.
As eel catches have been dwindling, they decided to work together to secure a stable supply in the future.
According to a plan agreed upon by executives of the three fishing authorities in December, they will share by May precise data on fishery yields, the amount of farmed eel produced and trade volumes.
The agencies also plan to build a "traceability system" in about two years to track global eel distribution routes in an effort to analyze the overfishing situation.
The United States had considered submitting a proposal for an international trade regulation on eel catches at a conference on the Washington Convention, also known as the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), this March. Though it eventually decided against the proposal, calls for stricter regulation may start to be heard across the world if poor eel catches continue.

(Jan. 4, 2013)