This Strategy Plan is a sectoral plan of distant water fisheries. The auditing target is the industry related to distant water fisheries approved by the Council of Agriculture to conduct export trade of catches or fisheries products of distant water fisheries. The objective of the Strategy Plan is to ensure that the catches or fisheries products such industry traded are legal and not involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities. The Strategy Plan seeks to improve the traceability of fisheries products. It sets up auditing strategy directions, including: (1)Industry related to distant water fisheries shall be authorized by the Council and shall be guided by the Fisheries Agency to establish and implement the traceability program of fisheries products; (2) Capacity building of auditors on the field of specific law and regulations of fisheries management; (3) Establishing risk assessment to decide the risk level of authorized industry, auditing frequency or ratio, and priority of auditing targets based on risk level; (4) Setting up the specified timeframe to rectify shortcomings, as well as offences and penalties. The Strategy Plan further provides for the standards for auditing. Industry related to distant water fisheries shall: a. have sufficient knowledge to relevant laws and regulations of flag, coastal, port and market States as well as conservation and management measures adopted by respective international fisheries organization in the fight against IUU fisheries; b. establish and follow the code of conduct and operating procedures for purchase and sale of catches or fisheries products as well as operating procedures to deal with IUU catches or fisheries products once detected, so as to ensure not to purchase or sell IUU catches or fisheries products; c. keep transaction records and relevant evidencing documents of catches or fisheries products and ensure that each batch of catches or fisheries products exported could be traced at all stages from catching, transshipment, landing, transportation, processing to export. The Fisheries Agency of the Council of Agriculture shall independently assign personnel or coordinate with relevant competent authorities to form an audit squad unit. Audit reports shall be evaluated and reviewed by internal experts or external professional institutions.
Taiwan Province of China · 2016-04-07