Japan and Taiwan recently reopened fishery talks stalled in February 2009 due to rising tensions over control of the Senkaku Islands.
Known as Tiaoyutai in Taiwan and Diaoyu in China, disputes over sovereignty over the Japan-held islets, the potential oil reserves beneath them and the danger of military confrontation in the East China Sea have overshadowed discussion of fishing rights in the region.
Communities in Yilan County on Taiwan's northeast coast pull 80,000 tons of fish from the waters around the Senkakus each year, accounting for approximately 7 percent of the country's total catch.