ABSTRACT

The Taiwanese islands belonged to the Qing dynasty of mainland China for some time. However, Taiwan became part of Japan after the Sino-Japanese War in 1895. Taiwan then became a part of the Republic of China after World War II (WWII). Under Japanese rule, the fisheries of Taiwan were modernized, and the foundation of the contemporary fishery systems was laid. The Japanese Fishery Law was enacted gradually throughout the country, but the clauses concerning fishery associations were introduced in later revisions of the law. The Japanese Fishery Law was introduced in Taiwan almost in its entirety, as only some clauses concerning fishery unions were excluded. How, then, did Japanese fishers transfer the techniques which would become part of fishery systems in Taiwan from Japan and assist in developing the fisheries. In conclusion, pre-WWII fisheries laid the foundation for the post-WWII fishery systems in both Taiwan and Japan and deeply affected how contemporary fishery systems currently operate in Taiwan.