BEIJING: Authorities in China have levied fines worth more than 1 billion yuan ($137 million) on Chinese companies for fishing illegally in international waters since 2016, a white paper said on Tuesday.
The penalties were part of an intensified push by the world’s leading seafood exporter to promote a more sustainable approach to deep-sea fishing as it looks to blue waters to meet food security needs, said the report compiled by the State Council Information Office.
The report, titled “Development of China’s Deep-Sea Fishing Industry”, said it was aimed at introducing China’s stance, principles and approach on deep-sea fishing, and serves as a window to China’s expertise in managing fishing operations.
A total of 177 Chinese companies and 2,551 fishing trawlers are currently authorized to fish on the high seas across the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans, the waters near the Antarctic and the waters administered by China’s partners, and their annual output is roughly 2.3 million metric tons, the white paper said.
The report said that six Chinese companies have been permanently disqualified from fishing offshore since 2016, while operations of another 22 have been temporarily suspended due to minor offenses over the same period. Some of the offenders were reported by foreign governments and international organizations.
“China strictly policed its footprint in deep-sea fishing and maintained zero tolerance toward misconduct through legislation and administrative law enforcement measures,” it said, adding that China had adopted a digital logging system to prevent overfishing of tuna, squid and saury, among others. The white paper highlighted China’s support for multilateral crackdown on illegal fishing. Such endeavors include deploying law enforcement vessels regularly in the North Pacific Ocean, starting in 2020, and barring sanctioned fishing boats from refueling and replenishing supplies at Chinese ports under a regional pact since 2018. –The Daily Mail-China Daily news exchange item
