https://www.newsbharati.com/Encyc/2023/5/26/Chinese-Illegal-Fishing.html
Chines commercial fishermen serve as paramilitary personnel
The Chinese government uses its commercial fishermen as
de facto paramilitary forces to assert territorial dominance in the South China
Sea and other contested waters. The Chinese fishing fleet, which makes up the
largest fishing fleet in the world, often operates under the guise of a
civilian force, but it functions as a "civilian militia" with
aggressive and ubiquitous blue-water presence globally. This fleet is often
used to push back other fishermen or governments that challenge China's
sovereignty claims. While China has expanded its naval force, including advanced
research vessels that explore for natural resources, its fishing fleet remains
the more aggressive and ubiquitous presence.
The South China Sea is one of the most hotly contested
regions in the world, with competing claims from multiple countries, including
China, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, and Indonesia. China's
justification for its rights over the region relies on the "nine-dash
line" argument, which has no basis under international law and was found
to be invalid in a 2016 international court ruling. The interests in the region
include fishing rights, lucrative subsea oil and gas deposits, and a political
desire for control over a vital waterway that a third of the world's maritime
trade flows through.
Chinese fishing vessels are becoming more frequent,
brazen, and aggressive in waters around the world, from North Korea to Mexico
to Indonesia, raising concerns about potential military conflict, human rights
abuses, and environmental damage. The Chinese government's policies, such as
subsidizing the industry and supporting the squid fleet with data gleaned from
satellites and research vessels, have accelerated ocean depletion. A cohesive
international strategy is necessary to manage marine resources and prevent
unsafe incidents at sea.
Effect
of Chinese Illegal Fishing.
These activities have serious consequences for marine
ecosystems, including the depletion of fish stocks, damage to seafloor
habitats, and the extinction of endangered species. In addition to
environmental impacts, these activities also have economic and social impacts
on coastal communities of small and poor countries that rely on fishing for
their livelihoods.
Territorial
Waters may be protected but----
The United States, too, has pledged to assist smaller
nations to counter China’s illegal or unregulated fishing practices. The U.S.
Coast Guard, which now calls the practice one of the greatest security threats
in the oceans, has dispatched patrol ships to the South Pacific.
President Biden has issued a national security memorandum
pledging to increase monitoring of the fishing industry. Speaking virtually at
a forum of Pacific nations, Vice President Kamala Harris said the United States
would triple American assistance to help the nations patrol their waters, offering
$60 million a year for the next decade.
Such efforts may help in territorial waters, but they do
little to restrict China’s fleet on the open seas. The consumption of fish
worldwide continues to rise, reaching a record high recently. At the same time,
the known stocks of most species of fish continue to decline, according to the
latest report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization.
Stopping
Chinese Illegal Activities
These activities are done to maximize profits and meet
the demand for seafood in China and other markets. However, these activities
have severe consequences for the environment, the sustainability of fish
stocks, and the livelihoods of people who depend on fishing .To stop China's
deep sea fishing fleet from overfishing, IUU fishing, and engaging in other
illegal activities, there are several measures that can be taken:-
1.Strengthening
regulations: Governments can strengthen regulations to monitor and
enforce fishing activities, including requiring vessels to have proper licenses,
prohibiting the use of banned fishing methods, and enforcing catch limits.There
needs to be increased monitoring, surveillance, and enforcement of
international fishing regulations. This includes implementing measures such as
vessel monitoring systems, port state controls, and catch documentation
schemes.
2.Increasing
surveillance: Governments can increase surveillance and monitoring of
fishing activities, including through the use of satellite technology, on-board
observers, and aerial surveillance.
3.Collaboration
among countries: Countries can work together to share information and
coordinate efforts to combat IUU fishing, including through the sharing of
vessel tracking data and joint enforcement operations. This requires greater
international cooperation and coordination to monitor and enforce fishing
regulations, as well as the development of new agreements and treaties to
address issues such as illegal fishing and environmental damage. There needs to
be greater cooperation between countries to share information and coordinate
efforts to combat IUU fishing. This includes promoting transparency in the
fishing industry and ensuring that all fishing vessels operate legally and
sustainably.
4. Strengthening
fisheries management and enforcement systems: This involves improving
monitoring and control of fishing activities, implementing stricter
regulations, and enforcing penalties for IUU fishing activities.
Technology such as satellite monitoring and electronic
monitoring systems can be used to track and monitor fishing activities, which
can help identify and prevent IUU fishing activities.
5. Increase transparency and accountability
in the fishing industry by requiring fishing vessels to be registered and
licensed, and mandating the use of traceability systems to track fish from the
point of capture to the point of sale. This can help to deter illegal fishing
activities and promote sustainable fishing practices.
6.Increase
public awareness
They have serious consequences for the sustainability of
fish stocks, the marine ecosystem, and the livelihoods of fishermen around the
world.
The environmental and social impacts of illegal fishing,
and to encourage consumer demand for sustainably sourced seafood has to be
increased. This can help to create a market incentive for legal and sustainable
fishing practices, and reduce the demand for illegally caught seafood.
The consumers can play a role in reducing the demand for
illegally caught fish by choosing to purchase seafood that is certified as
sustainable and responsibly sourced. By taking these actions, we can help to
protect the marine ecosystem and ensure that the oceans are managed in a
sustainable way for the benefit of all.
State
of Indian Deep Sea Fishing
India too must raise its own fleet and build modern
harbours to further its economic and security goals. “The fishing fleet is an important component
of the sea power of the state. The role of this fleet has grown sharply, and
its most important task consists in ensuring a solution of the acute food
problem facing mankind.”
Since the dwindling availability of farmland forced China
to become a net importer of food grain, it has mobilised the fishing industry
to meet the rising demand for protein in the Chinese diet.
Consequently, China is today a “fishery superpower”,
which owns the world’s largest deep-water fishing (DWF) fleet, with boats that
stay at sea for months or even years.
For India too, fish, being an affordable and rich source
of animal protein, is one of the healthiest options to mitigate hunger and
malnutrition. Since Independence, India’s marine fishery has been dominated by
the “artisanal sector” — poor, small-scale fishers who can afford only small
sailboats or canoes to fish for subsistence.
India’s artisanal fishers deliver only 2 per cent of
marine fish to the market, while 98 per cent is caught by mechanised and
motorised craft. Having commenced as a purely traditional activity, India’s
fisheries are being transformed into a commercial enterprise. The sector has
shown steady growth and has become a major contributor of foreign exchange:
India ranks amongst the world’s leading seafood exporting
nations. Fisheries provide livelihood to about 15 million fishers and
fish-farmers at the primary level, and generates almost twice the number of
jobs, along the value-chain — in transportation, cold-storages, and marketing.
These figures could have been much higher had India
invested in a deep water fleet. Since Indian trawlers do not venture into rich
fishing grounds, most of the fishing is being undertaken in coastal waters and
our fishermen have to compete with those of neighbours, Sri Lanka and Pakistan,
in restricted fishing grounds.
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