More than 300 Chinese fishing vessels enter South Atlantic under watchful eye of Argentine Navy

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “It chills the blood. It is a real tide of rusty iron that advances compactly. They are not only fishing vessels but also tankers and refrigerated cargo ships that provide the necessary logistic support for these vessels to operate continuously without returning to port”.

The comment belongs to one of those responsible for controlling the sea at the eastern mouth of the Strait of Magellan, who tells Infobae about the work being carried out by the Argentine Navy at this time.

The Strait that connects the Pacific with the Atlantic registers a peak of the maritime traffic that will extend for a couple of weeks more or until the entire eastern fishing fleet finishes crossing this bioceanic corridor to position itself in front of the coasts of the Argentine Patagonia.

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The fundamental task is the precise preparation of an “inventory” of the number of units, their main characteristics, and the careful monitoring of the non-extractive activities while they circulate through jurisdictional waters. “The innocent passage without fishing cannot be restricted in any way,” specialists of the Argentine Naval League told Infobae.

OPVS MAKE THEIR DEBUT

Although the Strait of Magellan is under the sovereign control of the Republic of Chile, for the first time in the history of the Argentine Navy, a vessel specifically designed for the control and boarding of vessels, awaits the fishing vessels at the eastern mouth of the Strait, to identify them one by one and accompany them closely until they cross the 200 miles whose economic sovereignty is the exclusive power of the Argentine Republic.

The Patrullero Oceánico ARA “Bouchard” is one of the modern units that the Argentine Navy has recently incorporated and which has been specifically designed to control illegal fishing, and the boarding of fishing vessels for fishing vessels control purposes. Its presence in Magallanes is essential at this time.

“On November 26, this unit belonging to the Maritime Patrol Division of the Argentine Navy set sail from the port of Ushuaia and was positioned at the mouth of the Magallanes to identify them one by one, making radio contact with their captains, informing them of the rules and sanctions foreseen if they deploy their fishing gear in the ZZEA and accompanying them out of it,” Argentine Navy sources advised this Monday.

The naval force arranged the formation of “platoons” of ten vessels each, escorted by the OPV “Bouchard” throughout their transit through the waters subject to Argentine control. The task is complemented by at least one B200 aircraft of the Maritime Air Surveillance Squadron of the Air Naval Force No. 1.

The mission of this type of naval air unit consists of overflying the fishing fleet, aerial identification of the teams, and cooperation with the requirements that the surface unit may request.

According to Infobae, more than 100 vessels, including squidboats, longliners, and trawlers, made the “Pacific-Atlantic” crossing so far. Hake and squid will be the species demanded by these vessels. “In a few days, the maritime traffic will reach almost 350 crossings”, says one of the naval officers consulted.

BETTER PREPARED

Despite the criticisms made by various environmental and conservationist sectors due to the lack of controls by the authorities, both during the administration of former President Mauricio Macri and the current administration headed by Alberto Fernández, significant progress has been made in terms of prevention and control.

As a result of the political decision promoted by the former Macri administration, Argentina signed a contract with the firm Naval Group for the construction in France of 3 ocean patrol boats plus the purchase of a fourth unit with only two years of use. “The maritime policy -although with nuances- is coincident among the different political forces”, said Minister Taiana in the last hours.

The “Bouchard” is the vessel currently operating in the Strait of Magellan. According to the requirements, the OPV “Piedrabuena”, incorporated last June, will be added to the recently arrived OPV “Storni”, operating at the Apostadero Naval Buenos Aires since last Friday.

The fourth ship, “Almirante Cordero” will be in the country by 2022. This time for the Prefectura Naval Argentina, the incorporation of more patrol vessels is not ruled out as well, according to the draft of the 2022 budget.

The ships complement the classic corvettes of the Maritime Patrol Division. Still, as these are vessels designed for military combat, they are much more expensive, less versatile, and require the commitment of at least 200 sailors per unit, as opposed to 40 for each OPV.

Likewise, the “Mantilla” class Coast Guards – such as the GC Prefect Derbes – and the modern Beechcraft of the Argentine Naval Prefecture will once again be part of the fishing control operations by the Eastern and European fleets that visit the southern sea between January and April each year.

Also, after many years of working in an uncoordinated manner, the Navy and the Prefecture have been working together since 2020, exercising the control of the 200 miles. This planned task made it possible that two attempts of incursion by eastern fishing vessels into the EEZ during the last fishing season were neutralized by ships of both forces.

It is worth mentioning that in the next few days, the recently created “Joint Maritime Command” will start operating under the Joint Chiefs of Staff, which will coordinate the efforts of the three armed forces in tasks related to the control of the sea.

On the other hand, at the initiative of the Undersecretary of Fisheries of the Nation, the National Congress passed into law the bill to update the penalties for vessels that fish in violation of the law. The amounts of the fines were valued in relation to the price of Naval Gas Oil, which allows a constant updating of the compensation amounts.

The Prefectura Naval Argentina has added an important achievement in pursuing and capturing infringing vessels by getting Interpol to detain the Chinese fishing vessel Hua Li 8 in an Indonesian port using a “purple notice”. Given the robust measure, the vessel owner agreed to pay the fine imposed by the national fishing authorities.

Last Friday at the Apostadero Naval Buenos Aires, the Minister of Defense Jorge Taiana was categorical in replying to those who argue that it is necessary to control the sea beyond 200 miles since the predation of migratory species that enter and leave the EEZ is causing a depletion of Argentine fish stocks.

“Argentina should concentrate on taking care of what happens from 200 miles inward. Unreported and unregulated fishing outside the 200-mile zone depends on international regulations, to which Argentina will contribute if necessary. But make no mistake, the greatest responsibility in matters of depredation in our sea is given by the granting of 30-year fishing licenses that Great Britain grants on resources that are our own”, said the official.

The Undersecretary of Fisheries Carlos Liberman, the Director of Operations of the Naval Prefecture Prefect General Miguel Ángel Reyes, and the General Director of Organization and Doctrine of the Navy Rear Admiral Julio Sanguinetti also expressed their views.

Each of those consulted detailed with legal arguments the reasons why at present it is not possible to exercise police, political or military control over the ships that suck the fishing wealth from the depths of the Atlantic at the very beginning of Argentina’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

The South Atlantic is considered one of the most important fishing grounds globally, both for the diversity and quantity of fish fauna. The scourge of the so-called unreported and unregulated fishing is not only the responsibility of the eastern fleets; Spain, Russia, and Poland are among the flags that own fishing vessels that operate in almost all the seas of the world and that do not always respect the exclusive economic zones of the coastal countries.

With information from Infobae