China’s fisheries authorities have warned the country’s overseas fleet to stop fleeing the scene of any illegal fishing incidents.
In a missive titled “Regarding the Improvement of Distant Water Fisheries Management,” sent to Chinese distant-water fishing companies from the Fisheries Regulation Bureau of the Agricultural Ministry in Beijing, the government cautions Chinese trawlers to cooperate with investigating authorities if “apprehended” and warns against “illegal entry to the waters of other nations.”
Illegal fishing by its distant-water fleet is a potential source of embarrassment to China as it enters negotiations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) over its fishing subsidies. Industrial fleets like those of China are only able to operate in remote waters thanks to fuel subsidies from their governments, according to many campaign groups. But previous efforts by China’s government to rein in the national fleet have rubbed up against the ambitions of several Chinese coastal regions like Dalian, Fujian, and Zhejiang, which are seeking to expand their distant-water fleets in order to generate processing jobs and increase their seafood supplies.
Last month, an Argentine navy patrol boat fired on the Hua Xiang 801, a 72-meter trawler allegedly fishing in Argentina’s exclusive economic zone. In February, another Chinese vessel, the Zhongyuanyu 11, left the scene after colliding with a Spanish vessel, the Pesca Vaquiero, 16 kilometers outside the Argentine EEZ.
The Hua Xiang 801 incident has caused an “international fracas” and hurt China’s image, the missive warned.
Photo courtesy of La Prefectura Naval Argentina
