●The Promotion of South Atlantic Squid Fishery Improvement Project

Starting from September 2021, the Taiwan Squid & Saury Fisheries Association (TSSFA) initiated its consultation with the Overseas Fisheries Development Council (OFDC) about how to carry out Fishery Improvement Project (FIP). In 2022, the TSSFA determined to collaborate with the OFDC to launch the Southwest Atlantic Argentine Shortfin Squid Fishery Improvement Project (hereinafter Squid FIP), with participants from the public sector, academy, trading companies, and squid jigging fishing vessels that owners are willing to join the Squid FIP. The contract signing ceremony was held on January 7th, 2022.

The ceremony of contract signature between the TSSFA and the OFDC

●Currently the relevant personnel/ authority participating in South Atlantic Squid FIP include:

‧Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture (Government)
‧Professor Chia-Ying Ko and her team from National Taiwan University (Tentative) (Academy)
‧Professor Chih-Shin Chen and his team from National Taiwan Ocean University (Tentative) (Academy)
‧Overseas Fisheries Development Council of the Republic of China (Non-profit Organization)
‧Taiwan Squid and Saury Fisheries Association (Fishing Vessel Owner Association)
‧ATLANTIC CATCH (TAIWAN) LIMITED (Exporter)
‧Ammon Internationl Inc. (Exporter)
‧FCF Co., Ltd (Exporter)
‧83 Taiwan-flagged jigging fishing vessels targeting Argentine shortfin squid (Producer)

●The objectives of the fishery improvement project

According to the results of the needs assessment, which report is completed by using the rapid environmental assessment tool developed by Ocean Outcomes, the corresponding work plan are drafted and adopted with the objectives as follows:
‧Create a harvest strategy and harvest control rule for the fishery.
‧Improve information collection on ETP species and evaluate the effectiveness of conservation measures.
‧Conduct the external evaluation to monitor and evaluate the performance of the fishery-specific management system.

●Progress

‧At the beginning of 2023, the Fisheries Agency of Taiwan commissioned Dr. Chih-Shin Chen at National Taiwan Ocean University to review the historical biological data of Argentine shortfin squid, analyze population parameters from the available data, and point out the data gaps for the population structure.
‧In June 2023, Overseas Fisheries Development Council invited the Fishery Agency of Taiwan, Dr. Chia-Ying Kao at National Taiwan University and Dr. Chih-Shin Chen at National Taiwan Ocean University to discuss follow-up scientific planning of the Squid FIP.
‧In July 2023, the Fisheries Agency of Taiwan commissioned Dr. Chia-Ying Kao at National Taiwan University and Dr. Chih-Shin Chen at National Taiwan Ocean University to conduct preliminary research on the Southwest Atlantic squid jigging fishery improvement project (FIP).
‧The Overseas Fisheries Development Council has completed interviews with the crews and vessel companies of this FIP from June to August 2023, to collect the information required for Social Responsibility and Human Rights Risk Assessment Reports.
‧To improve the capability of filling in the logbook, the skipper training was held on 7 December 2023 at Kaohsiung.
‧Taiwan Squid & Saury Fisheries Association invited Professor Chih-Shin Chen from National Taiwan Ocean University to give a presentation in Kaohsiung on April 12, 2024. The purpose was to enhance fishermen's understanding of the fishery, resource analysis, and international management of the Argentine shortfin squid.
‧To further enhance fishers' ability to fill out logbooks and safely release incidental catch species, a workshop was held in Kaohsiung on November 26, 2024.
‧At the end of 2024, this FIP revised its work plan and adopted an incidental catch policy to demonstrate its commitment to conserving other species. The policy has been also distributed to all fishing vessels to enhance captains’ awareness and knowledge of best practices.

‧Progress made in 2022