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This article discusses Taiwan's participation in various international fisheries fora before and after the adoption of the U.N. Fish Stocks Agreement, emphasizing the pragmatic approach taken by Taiwan in gaining recognition in a number of tuna management organizations as a Commission Member.
Notes
1. See, for example, FAO Fisheries Report No. 484 (1992), Supplement, Papers Presented at the Technical Consultation on High Seas Fishing (Rome, 7–15 September 1992).
2. Reprinted at 34 I.L.M. 1542 (1995).
3. 1833 U.N.T.S. 397.
4. See http://www.iattc.org. The text of the IATTC Convention is available at this website.
5. See http://www.iccat.es. The text of the ICCAT Convention is available at this website.
6. See http://www.iotc.org. The text of the IOTC Convention is available at this website.
7. See http://www.wcpfc.org. The text of the WCPFC Convention is available at this website.
8. See http://www.ccsbt.org. The text of the CCSBT Convention is available at this website.
9. Helga Josupeit, et al., “The World Tuna Industry—An Analysis of Imports, Prices and of Their Combined Impact on Tuna Catches and Fishing Capacity,” Infofish Tuna Conference, 3–5 June 2004, PowerPoint presentation.
10. ICCAT Convention, supra note 5, Article XIV 1. reads: “This Convention shall be open for signatures by any Government which is a Member of the United Nations or of any Specialized Agency of the United Nations. Any such government which does not sign this Convention may adhere to it at any time.”
11. The People's Republic of China took the seat of the Republic of China in the United Nations pursuant to U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 of 25 October 1971—“Restoring the Rights of the People's Republic of China.” The Republic of China, however, had declared its withdrawal of membership from the United Nations in 1971 before the adoption of this Resolution.
12. See ICCAT Report 1986–87, Part II (1987), p. 60.
13. ICCAT Report 1988–89, Part I (1988), p. 52.
14. ICCAT Report 1994–95, Part I, Vol.1, (1994), p. 69.
15. See supra note 4.
16. See supra note 7.
17. Recollection of the author. The terminology of “Chinese Taipei” was first applied in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to circumvent the political sensitivity of the so-called “One China Policy” as applied in many countries. The IOC intended to block the ROC from continuing to be a member. The chairman of the ROC Olympic Committee brought the case to the court in Lausanne, Switzerland. He won the case, but was forced to discontinue using the original designation, i.e., the Republic of China. On 22 March 1981, the Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee signed an agreement with International Olympic Committee on the modality of the application of banner, anthem, equal right and obligation as other members. Since then the terminology of “Chinese Taipei” is sometimes referred to as the Olympic modality. See http://www.olympic.org.tw.
18. The Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) was established in 1979 by the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency Convention. There are seventeen members of the FFA. See http://www.ffa.int.
19. The absence of Taiwan from MHLC1 is also discussed in this issue in Michael W. Lodge, “The Practice of Fishing Entities in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations: The Case of the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.”
20. See supra note 17.
21. “Pacific group launches driftnet fishing study,” New Zealand Herald, 30 November 1989, p. 5, referred to Taiwan's absence from the conference: “Taiwan, the only other nation with a driftnet fleet in the area, gave no commitments and a delegation representing its tuna fishing industry refused to attend plenary sessions of the conference because of a row over representational status.”
22. Reprinted at 29 I.L.M. 1454 (1990).
23. Author's personal file.
24. Resolution 97-17, text available on the ICCAT website, supra note 5.
25. Resolution 01-17, text available on the ICCAT website, supra note 5.
26. Recommendation 03-20, text available on the ICCAT website, supra note 5.
27. See Resolution 01-25, “Criteria for the Allocation of Fishing Possibilities,” text available on the ICCAT website, supra note 5. A qualifying criteria is the necessity to be a contracting or cooperating noncontracting party, entity, or fishing entity.
28. Author's personal observation. The delegation of Taiwan tried to submit a proposal during the 12th Special Meeting of ICCAT held in November 2000 in Morocco, but faced a challenge from the PRC saying that only ICCAT Members were allowed to submit proposals, though the Rules of Procedure do not so indicate. In following ICCAT meetings, whenever Taiwan tried to submit a proposal, the Secretariat would call it an “information paper.”
29. Reproduced at http://www.oceanlaw.net/texts/majuro.htm.
30. “Report of the Third Session of the Multilateral High Level Conference on the Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific, Tokyo, Japan, 22–26 June 1998, Statements of Delegations and Observers.” Available from the Secretariat of WCPFC on request. Author's personal file.
31. See “Final Act of the Multilateral High-Level Conference on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific,” available on the WCPFC website, supra note 7, paragraph 17: “The Convention, together with the resolution, was adopted on 4 September 2000 by a vote.” The result of the vote was 19 in favor, 2 against (Japan and Republic of Korea), with three abstentions (China, France, and Tonga).
32. WCPFC Convention, supra note 7, Article 9.4.
33. Ibid., Article 9.7.
34. Ibid., Article 9.7.
35. See Lodge, supra note 19. The WCPFC Convention, Annex I is reproduced in Lodge, supra note 19.
36. See “Draft decision relating to the Rules of Procedure,” on the WCPFC website, supra note 7. An annotation in the Rules of Procedure reads:
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In accordance with article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean (hereafter referred to as “the Convention”), a fishing entity referred to in the Agreement for the Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, which has agreed to be bound by the regime established by the Convention in accordance with the provisions of Annex I to the Convention, may participate in the work, including decision-making, of the Commission in accordance with the provisions of article 9 and Annex I and subject to the provisions of article 34, paragraph 4. According to paragraph 2 of Annex I, such fishing entity shall participate in the work of the Commission, including decision-making, and shall comply with the obligations under the Convention. References thereto by the Commission or members of the Commission include, for the purposes of the Convention, such fishing entity as well as Contracting Parties.
37. See “Summary Record” of the WCPFC inaugural meeting, 9–10 December 2004, available on the WCPFC website, supra note 7.
38. For the background of this understanding, see Lodge, supra note 19 and, in this issue, Nien-Tsu Alfred Hu, “Fishing Entities: Its Emergence, Evolution and Practice from Taiwan's Perspective.”
39. WCPFC Convention, supra note 7, Article 34.
40. Available on the WCPFC website, supra note 7. The operative paragraphs of the arrangement read:
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The Conference hereby invites Chinese Taipei, as a fishing entity, and Chinese Taipei hereby declares its intent: (a) to participate in the Preparatory Conference established by the resolution attached to the Final Act of the Conference, (b) subject to the fulfillment of its domestic legal requirements, to agree to be bound by the regime established by the Convention in accordance with article 9, paragraph 2, of the Convention, and to participate in the Commission for the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean in accordance with the Convention.
41. The ultralow-temperature longline fishery in Taiwan involves using those longline fishing vessels with refrigerated equipment capable of freezing and storing tunas at –60°C for supply to sashimi market in Japan.
42. Author's personal observation.
43. Available on the CCSBT website, supra note 8.
44. Author's personal file.
45. CCSBT, Report of the Eleventh Annual Meeting, Appendix 3 refers to the Report of the Extended Commission. Available on the CCSBT website, supra note 8.
46. See supra note 4.
47. Resolution 98-02 “Working Group to Review the IATTC Convention,” reads in part:
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Notes the need to review the functions of the IATTC and its Convention and, if necessary, amend the Convention in order to bring it into harmony with the above-mentioned international instruments. … Agrees to establish immediately a working group of its member governments, open to other governments of coastal states and other states and regional economic integration organizations whose vessels are operating in the tuna fishery in the eastern Pacific. …
48. Resolution C98-09, “Resolution on the Participation of Taiwan in the Work of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission,” available on the IATTC website, supra note 4.
49. Available on the IATTC website, supra note 4.
50. Antigua Convention, supra note 49, Article I, paragraph 7:
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“Members of the Commission” means the Parties and any fishing entity which has expressed in accordance with the provisions of Article XXVIII of this Convention its formal commitment to abide by the terms of this Convention and comply with any conservation and management measures adopted pursuant thereto.
51. Antigua Convention, supra note 49, Article VIII.5.
52. Ibid., Article XXVII.
53. Ibid., Article XXXI.1.
54. OFDC staff attending the Commission meeting held in June 2005 in Lanzarote, Spain reported that Korea has ratified the 1949 Convention and became a Party to the 1949 Convention as from June 2005. The IATTC website, supra note 4, at the time of writing still shows Korea as a cooperating nonparty.
55. See supra note 6.
56. Constitution of the FAO is available on the FAO website at http://www.fao.org and FAO, Basic Texts of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States (2004 ed.), Vol. I, A (on the FAO website).
57. Taiwan applied for membership in 1999 and cooperating status in 2002.
58. Author's personal observation.
59. Verbal information provided to the author by the Secretary-General of Taiwan Tuna Association.
60. Respecting the problematic interaction between the IOTC and the FAO and the IOTC's recent reaction to such problems, see in this issue, William Edeson, “Some Future Directions for Fishing Entities in Certain Regional Fisheries Management Bodies.”
61. Ibid.
62. The relevant IOTC resolution concerning a quota limitation to Taiwan is the Resolution 05-01 “Conservation and Management Measures for Bigeye Tuna,” available on the IOTC website, supra note 6. Paragraph 2 reads: “The Commission shall request Taiwan Province of China to limit their annual bigeye catch in the IOTC area to 35,000 tons.”