Countering Chinese Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated Fishing All Over Oceans Part 1

The maritime domain was in the news recently because of Chinese aggressive actions in acquiring important strategic ports, complete domination over the world's shipping industry and very aggressive behavior in carrying out deep sea fishing which is dangerous to the entire mankind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In February, shipping giant Maersk took possession of a new cargo vessel, one that can meet the International Maritime Organization’s requirements for zero-emission shipping. That’s the good news. The bad news? The Maersk Biscayne was built by the Jiangsu New Yangzi shipyard in China, where Maersk has several more ships waiting to be built. Shipping companies are discovering that they’re far too dependent on Chinese shipyards.

 

Western countries’ building own shipyards will take a lot of time, and a lot of money, to restore to anything close to what’s needed. For long time most countries in the world would be dependent for the shipping requirement on China which, is very dangerous proposition.

 

 

 

 

China is a powerhouse in global trade. Its rapid growth has been significantly fuelled by decades of rising exports, bringing new emphasis to the role ports play in trade and strategic relations.

 

 

Overseas port investments and potentially military base access, particularly in countries of global and geostrategic importance near maritime chokepoints, could give China greater influence over key supply chain networks.

 

 

The worst news is that two of the most powerful European Nations that is France and Germany, are also offering their own ports to China for economic reasons without understanding that it is a strategic disaster.

 

 

 

 

This article proposes to focus on Chinese Illegal, Unreported And Unregulated Fishing, in all Oceans Including Atlantic ,Indo-Pacific, South China Sea, And Indian Ocean and recommending methods to counter them.

 

 

Over the last two decades, China has built the world’s largest deep-water fishing fleet, by far, with nearly 4,000 ships. Having severely depleted stocks in its own coastal waters, China now fishes in any ocean in the world, and on a scale that dwarfs some countries’ entire fleets near their own waters.

 

 

The impact is increasingly being felt from the Indian Ocean to the South Pacific, from the coasts of Africa to those off South America — a manifestation on the high seas of China’s global greed. Rich and ecologically diverse, the waters around the world have attracted local fishermen for centuries. Now, these waters face a much larger, more rapacious hunter: China.

 

 

Each year growing numbers of Chinese commercial ships, thousands of miles from home, fish in all parts of the world.

 

 

The Chinese ships since 2016 have operated off all continents virtually all day, all year, where they have fished for what amounts collectively to more than thousands of days.The scale has raised alarms about the harm to the local economies and the environment, as well as the commercial sustainability of tuna, squid and other species.

 

 

In this article following aspects will be covered:-

 

 

• Chinese fisheries ranks number one on the IUU fishing index
• How China’s Expanding Fishing Fleet Is Depleting the World’s Oceans
• Huge Size of Chinese fisheries Industry

 

 

At an estimated 564 000 vessels, China has the world's largest fishing fleet as per FAO. China is a fisheries superpower: according to the UN, it consumes around 36 per cent of total global fish production, and hauls in 15.2 million tonnes of marine life a year, or 20 per cent of the world's entire annual catch.

 

 

There are trawlers, refuelling ships, freezer and transport vessels that allow them to continue operating without going to port for months at a time, sometimes longer."More than any other fishing fleet in the world, [China] travels farther, stays at sea longer, pulls up more fish than anyone, and is also more routinely invading national waters.

 

 

It's unsurprising then that China ranks number one on the IUU fishing index.

 

 

The fleet is routinely found to be violating the law, targeting endangered shark species, falsifying licenses and documentation, as well as committing human rights abuses onboard its vessels.

 

 

Chinese illegal fishing activities have been reported by media in America ,Africa, Asian countries and in fact by all countries that have a coastline. Some of what China does, however, is legal — or, on the open seas at least, largely unregulated. Given the growing demands of an increasingly prosperous consumer class in China, it is unlikely to end soon.

 

 

China owns world's largest deep sea fishing fleet. This fleet is accused of carrying out illegal fishing activities in Indo Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean in South China Sea and in fact all over the water surface.

 

 

Which are these activities? What is their modest operandi? How serious their violations of the UNCLOS? What can be done to stop them from overfishing, threatening world fishing communities?

 

 

China's deep sea fishing fleet has been accused of engaging in various illegal fishing activities, overfishing in various parts of the world, which has led to the depletion of fish stocks and negatively impacted local economies. They have been accused of using destructive fishing methods, such as bottom trawling and dynamite fishing, which damage marine ecosystems and destroy habitats. They have been accused of engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities in various regions, including the Indo-Pacific, South China Sea, and Indian Ocean.

 

 

Some of these illegal activities include:

 

 

 

 

This refers to fishing activities that are carried out without proper authorization or in violation of fishing regulations. China's fishing fleet has been accused of engaging in IUU fishing in various parts of the world, including the Indo Pacific ocean, the South China Sea, and the Indian Ocean. China's fleet has been accused of overfishing and depleting fish stocks in various regions. China's fleet engages in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which involves fishing in prohibited areas, exceeding fishing quotas, and using banned fishing methods. These activities can lead to overfishing, depletion of fish stocks, and damage to the marine ecosystem. China's fishing fleet has been accused of fishing in prohibited areas, exceeding fishing quotas.

 

 

 

 

China's fishing fleet has been accused of using banned fishing methods, such as drift nets, which can trap and kill large amounts of marine life, bottom trawling, which damages the seafloor and destroys marine habitats.

 

 

 

 

China's fleet has been accused of fishing in waters that are outside their jurisdiction, without the necessary permits and licenses.

 

 

 

 

China's fleet has been accused of harvesting endangered species, such as sharks and sea turtles, for their fins and shells, respectively.

 

 

 

 

China's fleet also engages in illegal transshipment, which involves transferring fish from one vessel to another at sea. This allows them to avoid inspections and hide the origin of the fish.

 

 

 

 

China's fleet has been accused of exploiting workers, including forced labor, low wages, and poor working conditions.

 

 

 

 

China's fishing fleet employs large-scale vessels equipped with advanced technology and fishing gear to catch vast quantities of fish. They operate both in the high seas and Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) of other countries, exploiting weak fisheries management systems and inadequate enforcement. The impact of these activities is severe, not only depleting fish stocks and disrupting the marine ecosystem but also undermining the livelihoods of local fishing communities. The use of sophisticated technology, such as sonar and satellite tracking, enables these industrial vessels to locate and catch fish in remote areas, making it difficult for authorities to monitor their activities. Some boats use flags of convenience to evade regulations and disguise their origins. The Chinese fishing boats are renowned for their aggressive tactics, often armed and known for ramming competitors or foreign patrol vessels, according to U.S. Navy officials and maritime security experts. China's media often portrays the country's maritime clashes with other nearby Asian nations as an extension of ancient China's Three Kingdoms, which fought a fierce three-way battle for supremacy. As China's vast fishing fleet depletes areas close to home, it moves into foreign waters, putting more than seafood at stake, as China seeks to assert itself on the seas and further its geopolitical ambitions from East Asia to Latin America

 

 

 

 

China's fishing industry is massive, with estimates of its global fleet ranging from 200,000 to 800,000 boats, accounting for almost half of the world's fishing activity. While the Chinese government reports that its distant-water fleet has around 2,600 ships, research by the Overseas Development Institute indicates this number is closer to 17,000, with many ships being undetected, such as those recently found in North Korean waters. In contrast, the United States has fewer than 300 distant-water fishing vessels.

 

China's global fishing fleet has grown into a modern behemoth with the government's robust subsidies, investing billions of yuan annually. The fleet's growth includes the construction of bigger and more advanced trawlers, and the provision of medical ships to enable longer stays at sea. Chinese subsidies for diesel fuel have also increased tenfold between 2006 and 2011. With an estimated 564,000 vessels, China is the world's largest fishing fleet, consuming around 36% of global fish production and hauling in 15.2 million tonnes of marine life annually, equivalent to 20% of the world's catch.

 

Despite UN regulations requiring fishing vessels to transmit their location continually, many Chinese vessels deliberately turn off their transponders, making it challenging to monitor their activities. The fleet travels far, stays at sea longer, and catches more fish than any other fleet worldwide. Chinese vessels violate maritime laws and human rights, falsify licenses and documentation, and target endangered shark species. China also ranks first on the IUU fishing index.

 

Cash-strapped governments have sold their fishing rights to overseas companies, unable to monitor their activities' legality due to economic challenges. Reeling in China's distant-water fleet requires a cohesive international strategy to manage marine resources.

 

 

--