A fishery base planned by a Chinese fishing firm hasn’t yet received approval from the Ecuadorian government to build a giant fishery base, according to Ecuador’s commercial counselor in Guangzhou.
China Ocean Group Development Co. recently announced it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Mercado Común Del Sur (MERCOSUR) to build a pelagic fishery base in Ecuador.
But the company hasn’t detailed which species it is focused on or where in Ecuador, said Paul Penaherrera, who is also representative for the Canton region ProEcuador, a state agency promoting exports and investment.
China Ocean Group Development Chairman Liu Rongsheng was joined by a slew of Chinese executives, officials, researchers, and retired diplomats attended the MoU signing at the Sheraton hotel in Shenzhen. In a filing to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company said it will send 100 vessels to Ecuador and build the base at Manta, Ecuador – the hub of South America’s tuna-fishing industry.
“The board is pleased to announce that on 8 December, 2020, the Company and MERCOSUR entered into a memorandum of cooperation,” the filing stated. “Pursuant to the memorandum, the parties intend to build a deep-sea fishery base in Manta, Ecuador, which shall include offshore fishery docks, breeding, cold storage, processing plants, logistics, comprehensive supplies, maintenance and repair of fishing vessels, training and research of the fishing industry, and logistics trade, the company will organize a total of 100 fishing vessels to go to Ecuador and Colombia and other countries to carry out fishing.”
Penaherra was photographed at the official signing event, but he told SeafoodSource he was merely attending to “check the company’s proposals for Latin America.”
“It’s not approved by government,” he said. “The company is planning to present proposals to [Ecuador’s] government to see if it will be approved or not.”
The signing ceremony at the Sheraton in Shenzhen was between China Ocean and a private chamber of commerce and there was no signature from the Ecuadorian government, Penaherrera said. That chamber of commerce terms itself Alliance Mercosur Camara Internacional and was represented at the signing ceremony by its secretary general, Liang Haishan.
The official Mercosur logo was displayed on the backdrop to the signing ceremony in the photo published in local media. Ecuador is not a member of Mercosur.
Also present at the signing ceremony were the directors of the China Distant-Water Fishing Association and the heads of two state-run think tanks: the Belt and Road International Cooperation Development (Shenzhen) Research Institute and the Ministry of Commerce’s China World Trade Research Institute.
SeafoodSource had not yet received responses to requests for comment made to China Ocean Group as and Mercosur.
Photo courtesy of JopsStock/Shutterstock
