Premier Su Tseng-chang on Wednesday traveled to southern Taiwan's Pingtung County, where he visited the seafood market in Donggang to better understand the implementation of food safety procedures. He also announced a policy of flexible scheduling for workers in the fisheries industry, noting that the special nature of crewing fishing vessels dictates that working hours be counted differently, as provided for in Article 84-1 of the Labor Standards Act. Employers and fishermen should work together to schedule appropriate working times and days off so as to meet the practical needs of job.
In 2018 the Executive Yuan approved infrastructure plans totaling NT$140 million (US$4.5 million) for the fishing harbors at Donggang and adjacent Yanpu, Premier Su said, which will help local producers meet the European Union's standards for seafood exports.
The Council of Agriculture indicated that under its June 2017 rules governing the processing of seafood and seafood exports destined for the EU, NT$32 million (US$1 million) has already been invested in Donggang as part of efforts to guarantee seafood quality and hygiene by controlling the movement of people and vehicles and ensuring sanitary handling of the catch. In addition, plans for 2019 include the construction in Donggang of Taiwan's first refrigerated auction space for sakura shrimp that will be compliant with Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) standards. Next year will then see the upgrade of the fresh seafood marketplace to also meet HACCP guidelines.