Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru Join Forces to Combat Massive China Fishing Fleets

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Four South American countries joined forces this week in a bid to combat illegal fishing by huge Chinese fleets off their coasts. Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru threatened measures “to prevent, discourage and jointly confront” illegal fishing near their exclusive economic zones in the Pacific.

The joint statement made no specific mention of China but environmental groups Greenpeace and Oceana have repeatedly warned of the growing presence of massive Chinese fishing fleets in the area.

Oceana has said in an August report that more than 900 vessels of Chinese origin in 2017, and 700 in 2018, probably caught almost as much Pacific flying squid as Japan and South Korea combined – more than 160,000 metric tons worth over US$440 million.

The South American quartet said they would boost “cooperation and real-time exchange of information” to highlight illegal fishing off their coasts.

Ecuador in July complained to China over a massive 300-trawler fishing fleet off the Galapagos Islands, saying around half of them had turned off their tracking systems so they couldn’t be located. Beijing in early August banned its vessels from fishing near the Galapagos from September to November this year.

The Chinese fleet instead headed south through international waters to fish near the exclusive economic zones of Peru and Chile, according to NGO Oceana.

This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error