Most fishing ports around Taiwan are now equipped with onshore facilities such as washrooms and prayer rooms for foreign fishing crew members, that are accessible to around 59 percent of foreign crews in the country, the Fisheries Agency under the Council of Agriculture said Wednesday.
These facilities have been set up since 2020 to improve living and working conditions for foreign workers in the fishery industry. As of June 30, 29 bathrooms with hot water systems have been set up at fishing ports across Taiwan for the workers to use, Chang Chih-sheng (???), head of the agency said, adding that three more will be completed in the second half of this year.
In addition, considering that most migrant fishing crews are Indonesian Muslim workers, 14 prayer rooms and rest facilities have been set up for them to pray, conduct religious ceremonies, and rest, according to Chang.
As of June 30, 6,895 foreign crew members have been hired in Taiwan and 59 percent of them can access these facilities, Chang said, noting that the agency aims to raise the facility coverage rate to 90 percent next year.
Moreover, the Fisheries Agency has rolled out an online service platform for foreign crew members which is available in Chinese, English, Indonesian, Filipino, and Vietnamese languages, and provides information about the living and working conditions and facilities in and near fishing ports, including the locations of stores, shopping centers, clinics, bathrooms, and rest areas, Chang said.
According to Chang, the platform also allows foreign crew on long-distance fishing vessels who were hired abroad to search for information such as the tonnage, size, age, and registration of their vessels.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel