Page 101 - 2019 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Annual Report 2019 Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan
The 24-hour Fisheries Monitoring Center helps fishermen stay in line with international norms.
improved Taiwan’s international image in terms of compliance record.
In addition, in order to fully implement the above-mentioned measures, the Executive Yuan formed a cross-ministerial "Combating IUU Task Force" to integrate the management capabilities of various government agencies and coordinate management efforts. The COA also issued the "National Plan for Control and Inspection for Fisheries," and with relevant ministries implementing measures throughout the fisheries production chain, Taiwan achieved overall success in combating IUU fishing. Today, Taiwan has been removed from the "Yellow Card" warning list, indicating that Taiwan’s fisheries management system as well as the fisheries products legally produced by fishermen have been accepted by the EU. International trading companies will now be more assured when purchasing Taiwan fisheries products, and for Taiwanese traders, exporting will be easier.
(5) Implementation of the "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act"
The "Organic Agriculture Promotion Act" (OAPA) came into effect in 2019. Its aims are to preserve soil and water resources and the environment, and protect biodiversity, animal welfare, and the rights of consumers, by encouraging farmers to engage in eco-friendly farming and sustainable use of resources.
A. The OAPA was promulgated by the President on May 30, 2018. Under Article 42 of the OAPA, the Act was to go into effect one year after promulgation. Therefore, bylaws and regulations authorized by the OAPA had to be issued prior to the date it
went into effect, so they could go into effect together with the OAPA, to make it possible for organic farmers, relevant businesses, certification institutions, and the Competent Authorities at various levels to operate within the law.
B. Acting on the basis of the OAPA, the COA finalized seven authorized sets of regulations, five substantive legal orders, and four sets of administrative rules (known collectively as "bylaws"), with a total of 263 provisions. The process for studying and finalizing these bylaws was as follows:
(a)
From August through the end of December 2018, the COA invited the Competent Authorities, certification institutions, and representatives of industry and academia to convene 13 working group meetings to come up with initial drafts of bylaws.
(b) From September of 2018 through March of 2019, the COA convened eight consultation meetings with stakeholders for the draft bylaws, amending the draft bylaws based on consensus. Of the bylaws, the COA further convened three meetings to study the authorized sets of regulations, discussing and confirming them article by article, and then started a 60-day advanced notification period.
(c) When the notification period ended and amendments had been made in the draft bylaws based on opinions from all stakeholders, between March and April of 2019 the COA’s Legal Affairs Committee held five review meetings on seven bylaws, and completed the issuing of the bylaws, which took effect on the date the OAPA took effect.
99