Any national of the Republic of China attaining the age of majority whose household is registered in a district of a fishermen association may join the regional fishermen association in the district as a member of category A or B, after passing the qualification screening, if he/she meets one of the following requirements:
(1)Members of category A:
i.Distant water fishermen
ii.Offshore fishermen
iii.Coastal fishermen
iv.Shallow sea aquaculture fishermen
v.Fish farms aquaculture fishermen
vi.Lake and river/marsh fishermen
(2)Members of category B:
i.Owners of fishing vessels or fish farms hiring others to engage in fisheries.
ii.People who graduated from fishery vocational schools, published fisheries books, or had fishery-related invention(s), and now engage in the work of fisheries improvement and promotion.
iii.Part-time fishermen that engage in the labor work of fisheries but are not qualified as members of category A.
For a minor under the age of 15 and who actually engages in the labor work of fisheries of members of category A, he/she may join the regional fishermen association in the district as a member of category A, with the approval of his/her legal representative.
A fisherman whose place of residence is without a regional fishermen association may join the adjacent regional fishermen association as a member.
A distant water or offshore fisherman may join the regional fishermen association where his/her fishing vessel registers as a member.
A fisherman shall not simultaneously be a member of two regional fishermen associations.
Regulations on qualifications determination, required documents, reviewing procedures, and other requirements for the people as referred to in paragraph 1 to follow when applying for the membership of a fishermen association shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
A member of a fishermen association who joins the association less than six months or who is a minor does not have the right to elect or to be elected as prescribed in this Act.

A national of the Republic of China attaining the age of majority whose household is registered in a district of a fishermen association, but who does not engage in the fisheries related business as stipulated in Article 15, may join the fishermen association as an individual sponsor member.
Any lawfully registered fisheries related enterprise may join the fishermen association in the district as a group sponsor member. An individual or group sponsor member does not have the right to elect or to be elected, with the exception that they may be elected as supervisors. Notwithstanding this provision, they enjoy other rights and obligations same as a member.

A superior fishermen association takes its subordinate fishermen association(s) as member(s). Representative(s) of a subordinate fishermen to join a superior fishermen association shall be elected in the General Members (Representatives) Meeting of the subordinate fishermen association, with the number of due representative(s) to be prescribed by the competent authority. The chair of the board of directors of a subordinate fishermen association is an ex officio member representative to the General Members (Representatives) Meeting of its superior fishermen association.
Among member representatives of fishermen associations at any level, at least two-thirds shall be members of category A. A member representative shall be eligible for re-election and his/her term shall be four years.
A member representative shall not serve concurrently as a chief or deputy chief of a fishermen task force or an employee of the fishermen association.
Member representatives of fishermen associations at any level shall register his/her candidacy prior to any election, and shall not join any election campaign before such registration.

A fishermen association member, who attains membership for six months or more, may register as a candidate for a member representative. Nevertheless, in case of any of following situations, the member shall not be entitled to such registration; if registered, the registration shall be revoked or cancelled:
(1)Where he/she has any debt to the fishermen association in relation to property, membership fees/dues, business capital, or fisheries promotion fund, or he/she has any debt on guaranty to the fishermen association, and any of such debts is overdue and unpaid.
(2)Where he/she is under any of the situations as referred to in Article 19.
(3)Where he/she has committed and been convicted sentence for any crime involving sedition or treason after the period of suppressing communist rebellion.
(4)Where a person is sentenced to compulsory labor under rehabilitative measures or gangster disciplinary education, and such judgement is finalized but the punishment is yet to be enforced, or enforced but not completed, or completed within the last five years; or, where a person is subject to a final judgement of rehabilitative measures and the punishment is yet to be enforced, or enforced but not completed.
(5)Where a person has committed a crime of corruption as stipulated in the Criminal Code or its special law, or committed a crime as stipulated in the Organized Crime Prevention Act, and the judgement is finalized.
(6)Where a person has committed such crime as vote-buying, bribe-taking, interference with voting or election campaign, undertaking vote-buying, or has taken advantage of his/her opportunity or means as afforded by his/her official position to commit such crime as embezzlement, fraudulence, breach of trust, or forging instruments, and is sentenced to imprisonment or a more severe punishment. Despite that, a person that has been sentenced to probation or whose punishment has been commuted to a criminal fine and the fine has been paid, is excluded from this provision.
(7)Where a person has committed a crime other than those as referred to in the preceding four sub-paragraphs and been sentenced to imprisonment or a more severe punishment, and such punishment is yet to be enforced, or enforced but not completed. Despite that, a person that has been sentenced to probation or imprisonment of not more than six months which may be commuted to a criminal fine, is excluded from this provision.
(8)Where a person whose account is rejected with respect to negotiable instruments, and the term of such sanction has not expired yet.

A person under any of the following circumstances shall not be a member of a fishermen association:
(1)He/she has been deprived of citizen’s rights, and such rights have not yet restituted.
(2)He/she has been pronounced bankrupt and his/her rights have not yet restituted.
(3)He/she has become a subject to the order of the commencement of guardianship, which has not been revoked.
(4)He/she has been expulsed pursuant to this Act.

A member of fishermen association who violates this Act or does not comply with the charter or resolutions of the General Members (Representatives) Meeting, and such violation or noncompliance directly jeopardizes the concerned fishermen association in a significant manner, shall be expulsed from membership.

Any member of a fishermen association is under any of the following circumstances, except for those as stipulated in paragraph 2, shall be disaffiliated:
(1)Death.
(2)He/she is under any of the circumstances as referred to in sub-paragraph (1) to (3) of Article 17.
(3)Loss of nationality of the Republic of China.
(4)His/her household registration or vessel registration is changed to another district outside the district of the original fishermen association.
(5)Expulsion.
Any member of fishermen association who meets the following criteria which result in the change of household registration to another district outside the district of the original fishermen association as stipulated in sub-paragraph (4) of the preceding paragraph shall be deemed as not disaffiliated. Notwithstanding this provision, he/she whose household registration is changed again shall be disaffiliated in accordance with the preceding paragraph:
(1)A major plan approved by the Executive Yuan; and
(2)His/her original residence was demolished owing to expropriation and such case is recorded by the Government.
The provisions as stipulated in the preceding paragraph shall become effective as of 22 September 2005.
For a person who was affiliated as a member of category A in a fishermen association before 12 November 1998 and whose household registration was changed to another district outside the district of the original fishermen association but then moved back to the district of the original fishermen association before 12 November 1998, in case that he/she has continued engaging in the labor work of fisheries and has paid the annual membership dues annually, he/she shall be deemed as affiliated again from the date he/she moved back.,