Page 26 - IB MAR 2017

Fisheries
China pledges to cut fleet sizes

Red the Chinese authorities. Starting from
quarter three, quarter four of last year, we
noticed a round of tightening of policy en-
forcement from the Chinese authorities.”
Law or regulations could be enforced
in a number of ways, he said, including
flag stricter and closer monitoring of vessel
monitoring (VMS) and automatic identi-
fication systems.
“We should also realize a lot of the
subsidies are linked to compliance. So
if the fisheries fleet, regardless of law
day or regulation, were spotted via the VMS
system operating in an area it is not sup-
posed to be operating, then the subsidy
might be cut. So they would actually pay

“All of those measures were enforced.
Chinese fishing boats berthed in Suva. Photo: Invictus a quite high price,” said Li.
And I think that is part of the reason why
By Netani Rika “(China) will keep the fishing capacity we actually didn’t observe IUU cases as
and catch of fishing vessels at a reason- frequent or as high profile as first half of
CHINA has pledged to reduce its fleet able level, referring to common practice of last year and the years before.”
of medium- and large-sized vessels by international fishery resources manage- However, Li expressed caution about
8300, and its total fishing fleet by 20,000 ment,” it said. the policies.
vessels. Fishing fleets based in Fiji, Vanuatu, The fact Beijing has targeted reduc-
The move comes after the announce- the Solomon Islands and Kiribati are often ing the fleet of medium- and large-sized
ment of a raft of policies aimed at control- Chinese flagged and backed up by huge vessels (with medium defined as 12-24
ling over-fishing. mother ships which tranship tuna on the meters, large, 24 meters plus) by 8300,
Late last year China came under fire high seas. possibly indicates an active approach to
at a meeting of the Western and Central Conservation groups have pointed to reducing capacity of the distant water
Pacific Fishing Commission at Denarau, the massive size of the Chinese fleet and fishing (DWF) fleet.
Fiji for its failure to limit the extent of its the government fuel subsidies for fisher- “There has been recent policy signals
operations in the region. ies companies as placing small countries by the Chinese authorities to control DWF
Similar sentiments were expressed 12 at a disadvantage. capacity. I think by the end of five-year
months earlier at Bali, Indonesia and So far this year China has made several period, they will keep the distant water
were also aimed at Taiwan, Japan and the similar policy announcements aimed at fleet size to within 3000(vessels).”
European Union. reducing the environmental impact of Capping the fleet size is “quite straight-
Small Pacific states have long argued China’s massive fishery sector. forward” because the approval process of
that Distant Fishing Water Nations – basi- In addition to sending vessels to the distant water fishing is within the central
cally the large countries which fish in the scrapyard, Beijing has pledged to cap government’s jurisdiction.
Pacific – have not done enough to ensure fish catch from China’s coastal waters While this latest Chinese move may be
sustainable fisheries. and inland freshwater ways, and extend good news for conservationists, it could
This means that they are an existential seasonal fishing moratoriums. have slight trickle-down effects for Pacific
threat to regional economies, livelihoods Robert Li, policy adviser for Greenpeace governments who are looking towards
and lifestyles. China, welcomed the moves, saying they increasing their capacity in this area.
The large nations have consistently are “good” and “part of a positive general Fiji – through Fisheries Minister, Com-
refused to acknowledge this. trend”. mander Semi Koroilavesau – has ex-
But a Chinese government document He added that in the past six months pressed the desire to begin fishing outside
published by the Fisheries Department or so China’s government had also been its territorial waters but within the region
of China’s Ministry of Agriculture said cracking down on distant water fishing if it can secure bi-lateral agreements.
the most recent policy was in response to vessels involved in illegal, unreported and The Chinese fleet reduction could affect
“extensive problems due to exploitation unregulated (IUU) fishing. Fiji’s plans significantly.
of fisheries resources”. This adds a diplomatic element to the The proposed 8300 reduction to the es-
In what appeared to be an acknowl- official environmental line.“There have timated fleet of 65,400 medium-large ves-
edgement of criticism and an attempt at been a number of high profile cases where sels amounts to 13 per cent. But between
appeasement, the document admitted that Chinese fishing fleets were involved in 2008-2012, China’s DWF fleet expanded
China’s government’s prior efforts had IUU fishing. Very high profile cases,” Li significantly supported by State-backed
“not effectively improved (the situation told the international media. economic stimulus.
of overfishing). “I think this really rang alarm bells with n Continued next page

26 Islands Business, March 2017