ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the growth and status of Taiwan’s distant-water fisheries are reviewed analytically. Of particular interest is the response of the industry to the difficulties and reduced-growth rates of the decade 1973–1983. The problems during this time stemmed mainly from increasing costs per unit of effort and reductions in available fishing grounds due to changing international legal arrangements. The industry responded by finding new fishing areas, exploiting a different set of species, improving technology, and upgrading the fleet to state-of-the-art efficiency. The abundant harvests in the years following 1983 indicate the success of this policy The chapter contains details of these responses and their individual contributions.
