On November 16th, 2023, Ambassador Steve C.C. Hsia of the ROC(Taiwan) Embassy in the Marshall Islands donated an official vehicle to the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority for the tasks conducted by fishery observers. The donation demonstrated Taiwan’s strong support for the Marshall Islands’ efforts to prevent Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.
In his remarks, Ambassador Hsia praised the observers for their hard work and professionalism at sea and emphasized that the observers’ work not only performed observation tasks but also played an important role in guiding fishermen to comply with the regulations of international organizations. Ambassador Hsia then pointed out that Taiwan, as a member of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), hoped to develop more cooperation with the Marshall Islands through such observer programs in the future to jointly protect precious marine resources.
MIMRA Director Glen Joseph expressed his gratitude to Ambassador Hsia and said that the vehicle for the observers’ tasks was purchased through the trust fund of the WCPFC sponsored by the Taiwanese government and such cooperation with Taiwan has enabled the Marshall Islands to strengthen fisheries management.
Through sponsoring the WCPFC Trust Fund, Taiwan has assisted the Marshall Islands with 35 observers in education and training, recruitment and inspection. Taiwan will continue to contribute to the conservation of marine fisheries resources.
