PDF(2.7mb) - 國家政策研究基金會

224 Taiwan Development Perspectives 2009
vious year, albeit the prices of tuna in the international
market fell by 50 percent. Many tuna boats remained
idle. Long-liner vessels came back from their overseas
bases to dock at their home port of Kaohsiung in southern
Taiwan. A 100-ton long-liner in operation burns one
ton of diesel a day. A 300-ton otter trawler uses up to
2.4 tons of diesel daily. A 500-ton super-chilling
long-liner consumes 3.5 tons. A 1,000-aton purse seine
ship needs eight tons, while its 1,500-ton counterpart
requires 10 tons of diesel oil for daily operation. Diesel
oil prices for fishing vessels, on average, were US$590
per ton in 2005, US$710 in 2006, and US$810-830 in
2007. The prices hit US$1,250-1,300 in July, 2008. The
government decided to increase its diesel oil subsidy to
fishermen by 14 percent in August 2008. Despite the
increase in subsidization, ocean fishing can find it hard
to survive. According to the Kaohsiung Fishermen’s
Association, only squid jigging, purse seine fishing for
tuna and saury fishing are likely to survive. (See Table
6 for diesel consumption by fishing vessels and Table 7
for diesel prices for fishing vessels.)
Table 6
Diesel Consumption by Fishing Vessels
Vessel Tonnage Daily Consumption (tons) Types of Vessels
100 1 Long-liner
300 2.4 Super-chilling long-liner
500 3.5 Otter trawling
1000 8 Purse seine
1500 10 Purse seine
Source: Kaohsiung Fishermen’s Association
Table 7 Mean Diesel Oil Prices for Fishing Vessels 2005~2008
Year
Mean Prices (US$/ton)
2005 590
2006 710
2007 810-830
2008 July 2. 1350-1400
2008 July 31. 1250-1300
Source: Kaohsiung Fishermen’s Association
VI. Conclusion
When crude oil prices were between US$20 and
US$30 a barrel from 1980 to 2003, Taiwan’s agriculture,
animal husbandry and fisheries made steady development.
They were hit hard by the jump in prices to
US$50 a barrel in April 2005. When the prices soared
to US$70 in December 2007 and then to US$100 in
February 2008, every industry in Taiwan suffered.
Food prices went up and consumers seethed with discontent.
Ocean fishing and the livestock industry found
it hard to survive if the three-digit oil prices remained
long. Agriculture fared slightly better than animal husbandry
and fisheries.
Fortunately, the oil prices started to fall after they