Papua New Guinea’s National Fisheries Authority has opened a cold-storage and distribution facility in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The facility will serve as a direct distribution point for species caught off Papua New Guinea like crab, lobster, shrimp, and reef fish and marks the latest move deepening ties between the Oceanic nation and China.
“This partnership between the National Fisheries Authority and the Guangzhou Aquatic Products Chamber of Commerce is a direct result of our governments’ joint efforts in our country’s bilateral relations,” Papua New Guinea Minister of Fisheries Jelta Wong said, per news station EMTV. “For PNG, this facility is a cornerstone of PNG’s efforts in sustainable development of fishery resources – vital to improving livelihoods and strengthened cooperation with China.”
Guangzhou Seafood Chamber of Commerce Director Zheng Shaokui added that he welcomed the arrival of the facility, which he called a “South Pacific treasure.”
Guangzhou is already connected to the Papua New Guinea capital of Port Moresby by a China Southern Airlines service that started in 2023, which should aid in the transportation of fresh seafood to the new hub.
The Guangzhou hub also follows the launch of a similar facility Papua New Guinea opened in Singapore in 2023.
China has maintained fisheries relations with Papua New Guinea, as well as other Pacific Island nations, for several years.
Its growing influence on the region has drawn pushback from nations like Australia and the U.S.
When the state-owned China National Fisheries Corp. signed a memorandum of understanding with the Solomon Islands to expand fishery operations and spur investments, Samuel Naujokas, currently a program research analyst with the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and a former illegal fisheries analyst at Washington, D.C., NGO C4ADS, said countries entering fisheries negotiations with China should educate themselves on China’s track record.
“There is a major need for greater transparency and accountability across the fisheries industry. This is especially true for China but also for all countries that have large, industrialized distant-water fishing fleets that operate on a global scale,” he said at the time. “To achieve greater transparency and accountability, countries like China need to make information about the onshore beneficial ownership networks of their fishing fleets openly accessible, close the regulatory loopholes that allow fishing companies to conceal histories of past legal violations, and adopt more transparent reporting requirements for fishing companies operating out of their jurisdictions.”
