A Chinese company’s controversial plan to build a fishing base in Guyana is advancing.
Speaking to media in Fujian Province, Fuzhou Hong Dong Pelagic Fishery Chairman Lan Ping said work on the base is moving forward, with a likely opening date of March 2020.
"We are bringing the Hong Dong model to Guyana,” Lan said. “[We will have] a base, a fleet and fishery resource.”
Hong Dong caused controversy in the local fishing community in Guyana in 2015 when it applied for permits for 30 120-foot trawlers and drift-netters to fish in Guyanese waters. Local fishing groups claimed the Chinese vessels were too large and that the country’s waters were already being fished to their maximum sustainable limit.
Building the base in Guyana would represent a big step into Latin America for Hong Dong, which operates what it claims is China’s largest overseas fishery base, in Mauritania. The company is currently shipping 2,500 tons of seafood (mostly tuna) per week to European Union and U.S. customers. The company had 100 vessels in operation as of early 2019 and another 60 under construction, with plans to further expand in West Africa.
In the interview, Yong – who’s also a delegate to the National People’s Congress – announced the completion of the third phase of development of Hong Dong’s base in Mauritania, and said the company sees an opportunity in developing aquaculture in Africa.
The continent is a “blank canvas” for aquaculture, Lan said – pointing to the potential for “mutually beneficial cooperation” between African and Chinese companies.
“China’s needs for quality seafood continues to rise,” Lan said. “Africa’s conditions are suitable…and they are very happy to get Chinese fishery investments and expertise.”
Hong Dong executives keep up busy travel schedules, judging from their frequent appearances in press releases from fisheries ministries all over the world in recent years, often accompanies by Chinese diplomats and officials.
The company claims a special connection to Chinese President Xi Jinping, who was instrumental in encouraging fishery firms to expand overseas when he was Communist Party boss in Fujian Province early in his career. Hong Dong executives were among a delegation from the province that received an audience with Xi during the annual sitting of China’s National People’s Congress in 2019.
SeafoodSource is attempting to reach the company and Guyanese authorities for more details.
Photo courtesy of Natalia Gornyakova/Shutterstock
