There is a great interview about the inadvertent killing of dolphins by the Taiwanese fisheries at the Highway 11 website:
John Y. Wang is a friend of mine. He’s a Taiwanese born Canadian who has spent years in Taiwan fighting the good fight with the authorities about marine issues. He was part of the team that identified the white dolphin species in the Taiwan straight and takes every opportunity to place pressure on the government for their inaction.
I especially liked this answer:
[i][b]H11: If cetaceans are protected, why are they still being killed and in pretty high numbers?
JW: Cetaceans are legally protected but without enforcement, the laws are worthless. Monitoring and enforcement have to occur at a high level if you want the law to achieve the desired outcome. This is not happening in Taiwan . I’m not sure Taiwan is really clear about the desired outcome of the Wildlife Conservation Act which was put together without much consultation with experts in the field of wildlife conservation.
If you examine Taiwan 's Wildlife Conservation Act, it does not discriminate between accidental or intentional killing of cetaceans. What is the use of a government agency being given the public charge of protecting cetaceans if fisheries are known to kill cetaceans?
Why hasn’t there been sufficient monitoring and enforcement? There are all kinds of excuses of course. It’s easier to turn a blind eye to the issue. Even if low level civil servants wanted to do a good job, they may be pressured by superiors to look the other way to avoid more “unnecessary” work. Others simply just have no idea how to execute due to a lack of training and ability. [/b][/i]
The whole interview can be found here: http://highway11.webwave.com.tw/magazine/200706/subject_02.php
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