Application of a Sustainable Fisheries Development Indicator System for Taiwan’s Aquaculture Industry

Abstract

The benefits of aquaculture for humans worldwide have become increasingly important, especially in Asia. Although Taiwan does not have a high aquaculture output, the superior aquaculture techniques employed allow Taiwan to maintain competitiveness in the Asian region. The objective of this study was to evaluate the trend of sustainable aquaculture fishery development in Taiwan, and the potential problems that exist. This study used a sustainable development indicator framework with 4 dimensions to analyze the sustainable development of Taiwan's aquaculture fisheries. The results showed that between 2004 and 2009, economic indicators declined, posing substantial concerns for the sustainable management of Taiwan's aquaculture. The results for the ecological, social, and institutional dimensions demonstrated stability or slight increases. Although the indicators partially reflect the effects of government aquaculture policies, problems such as illegal aquaculture fish ponds, inaccurate sales data, and sales channels controlled by a limited number of fishmongers and middlemen remain. In summation, current aquaculture fisheries cannot achieve sustainability through production alone; instead, integrating the aquaculture fisheries with social humanities, environment and ecology, and resource management is required. • The results of this study showed that sustainable fisheries development indicator system (SFDIS) can be applied to evaluate the aquaculture policy performance well. • The experience of Taiwan's aquaculture policy could be a reference for the other countries, especially in East Asian region. • Taiwan experience shows, current aquaculture fisheries cannot achieve sustainability through production alone; instead, integrating the aquaculture fisheries with social humanities, environment and ecology, and resource management is required.