playing a greater part in Taiwan's aquaculture industry as the industry struggles to cope with labor shortages and fierce foreign competition. The Taiwanese government operates six fisheries and aquaculture research centers. The Aquaculture Taiwan Expo & Forum is the primary aquaculture trade show in Taiwan, it is held concurrently with the Livestock Taiwan Expo & Forum and the Asia Agri-Tech Expo & Forum. Taiwan is one of the largest fishing nations on earth and the associated fish processing industry is also significant. More than one third of the worlds longline tuna fishing vessels are operated by Taiwanese companies with the total strength of the distant waters fishing fleet at more than 2,000 vessels. The fishing industry is estimated to be worth approximately two billion dollars. Taiwan's ocean fisheries sector employs 350,000 people and there are 130,000 fishing households in Taiwan. Economy In 2013, agriculture sector contributes around 1.69% of its gross domestic product (GDP) with a total value of NT$475.90 billion. Combined with agriculture-related tourism sector, it contributes to 11% of Taiwan's GDP. Taiwan exports around US$5 billion worth of agricultural products annually to Canada, Mainland China, Japan, Middle East Singapore and United States. Manpower The agriculture sector employs around 540,000 people in Taiwan, about 5% of the total population. In 1997, there were around 780,000 farm households, in which 80% of them were part-time farm households. There are 1.1 hectares of cultivatable land per farm family. Finance Agricultural financing system consists of the Agricultural Bank of Taiwan () and credit departments of farmers' and fishermen's association which falls under the supervision of the Bureau of Agriculture Finance () of the COA. Agricultural Credit Guarantee Fund () is responsible for financing farmers without enough collateral to acquire working capital. Trade events Nantou Global Tea Expo () The Aquaculture Taiwan Expo & Forum, the Livestock Taiwan Expo & Forum and the Asia Agri-Tech Expo & Forum are all held concurrently. Organizations There are government-assisted farmer organizations around Taiwan which gives general assistance to farmers, such as supply, distribution, financial services etc. Farmer organizations in Taiwan consists of 302 farmers' associations, 40 fishermen's associations and 17 irrigation associations. Politics Taiwan has one agrarian political party, the Taiwan Farmers' Party, established on 15 June 2007. However, the party currently has no representative in the Legislative Yuan. Research There are 16 research institutes established under the COA aimed to the development and innovation of