Chinese authorities have further upped the ante in the fight against illegal fishing by smashing up vessels found guilty of fishing without a license or without a vessel name or proof of being on a port registry.
Often referred to in official reports as the “three no’s” of Chinese fishing, the transgressions have seen a dozen vessels destroyed by earth-moving machines in a public display in several coastal cities, including Taishan in Guangdong Province. The province allowed the smashing of the vessels to be broadcast on the city’s TV news channel.
The latest high-profile move by Chinese authorities will be of interest to campaigners against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, many of whom have called for global registries of vessels to track and prevent illegal fishing – including such activities of Chinese vessels.
Destroying vessels found fishing illegally is a strategy being used by several southeast Asian nations clamping down on illegal fishing – in particular Indonesia, which has blown up several Chinese and Vietnamese trawlers.
