China's Fishing Tentacles Disrupt the Well-Being of the Rest of the WOrld

Interesting article at Indo-Pacific Defense Forum China’s distant-water fishing fleet harms developing countries’ economies, food security

The People’s Republic of China’s (PRC’s) distant-water fishing fleet continues to harm developing countries through the loss of billions of dollars in revenues and by contributing to unsustainable levels of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, all of which threaten the livelihoods and food security of legitimate fishers and communities, according to a series of reports released in the past year. Having exhausted much of its fish stocks in domestic waters, the PRC has amassed the world’s largest distant-water fleet with close to 17,000 vessels, five to eight times more than previously documented, according to the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), an independent global think tank.

The repory of ODI can be found here. Highlights:

• With 16,966 vessels, China’s DWF fleet is 5–8 times larger than previous estimates.

• Trawlers are the most common DWF vessel, and most vessels are in the Northwest Pacific.

• Almost 1,000 Chinese DWF vessels are registered in other countries. The ownership and operational control of China’s DWF fleet is both complex and opaque.

• At least 183 vessels in China’s DWF fleet are suspected of involvement in IUU fishing.

The image above is from the report.