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Title: Regulations for Tuna Longline or Purse Seine Fishing Vessels Proceeding to the Pacific Ocean for Fishing Operation CH
Category: Ministry of Agriculture(農業部)
Attachment:
Chapter IV Fishing Gears and Methods, and Mitigation Measures for Incidental Catch
Article 24
For any catching vessel navigating through the water under national jurisdiction of any foreign country, all fishing equipment on board shall be stowed and secured, and such vessel shall not conduct activities such as arrangement of fishing gears or fishing, except that it has engaged in fisheries cooperation with the foreign country concerned.
Article 25
For any tuna longline fishing vessel fishing with the majority of hooks at a depth shallower than 100 meters, the following mitigations measures shall be used:
(1) Large circle hooks shall be used; or
(2) Fishes except for Cephalopods species shall be used as baits.
The large circle hooks as referred to in the preceding paragraph are hooks that are above 3 inches and are circular or oval in shape. The point is turned perpendicularly back to the shank. These hooks shall have an offset not to exceed 10 degrees.
Article 26
Except for fishing vessels of seasonal sharks group, any tuna longline fishing vessel shall not use shark lines as shown in Appendix 11.
For any tuna longline fishing vessel that operates between 20°N and 20°S within the WCPFC Convention area, it shall not use wire trace as branch lines or leaders, and if carrying, must stow it properly.
Article 27
Any tuna longline fishing vessel shall carry on board the line cutter, de-hooker and scoop/dip net, formats of which are as shown in Appendix 12, to release incidentally caught seabirds and sea turtles.
Article 28
Any tuna longline fishing vessel fishing in the WCPFC Convention Area shall use the seabird mitigation measures, specifications of which are as shown in Appendix 13, in accordance with the following provisions:
(1) When fishing in the WCPFC Convention Area north of 23°N, the tuna longline fishing vessel shall use at least two seabird bycatch mitigation measures which may be the installation of two sets of tori lines or one set of tori line together with one of the following measures: weighted branch lines, night setting, management of offal discharge, blue dyed bait and deep setting line shooter.
(2) When fishing in the WCPFC Convention Area south of 30°S, the tuna longline fishing vessel shall use at least two seabird bycatch mitigation measures, one of which shall be tori lines, and the other shall be weighted branch lines or night setting.
(3) Starting from 1 January 2020, tuna longline fishing vessels fishing in the WCPFC Convention Area between south of 20°S and north of 30°S shall use tori lines for seabird mitigation.
Any tuna longline fishing vessel fishing in the IATTC Convention Area south of 30°S and north of 23°N, as well as the area bounded by the coastline at 2°N, west to 2°N-95°W, south to 15°S-95°W, east to 15°S-85°W, and south to 30°S shall use at least two different seabird bycatch mitigation measures, one of which shall be tori lines and the other shall be night setting, weighted branch lines, management of offal discharge or line shooting device. The area is as shown in Appendix 14, and the specifications of the seabird mitigation measures are as shown in Appendix 15.