A Recent Report Accused Chinese Boats of Fishing Illegally in the Indian Ocean
New Delhi: The Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) published a report on Wednesday, accusing the Chinese fleet of illegally catching squid and tuna in the unregulated parts of the Indian Ocean. The report also revealed a six-fold increase in squid vessels in the ocean high seas since 2016.
The TMT spotted 341 Chinese operating vessels fishing unauthorized large tuna species in the International waters, without permission from the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC), of which 5 active vessels later called into a Pakistan port with 30 metric tonnes of skipjack and yellowfin tuna.
However, no organizations regulate the squid caught in the Indian Ocean, unlike other high seas where countries jointly manage fishing grounds beyond territorial waters. Besides, the report found squid vessels using large nets that can generate a by-catch of non-targeted species.
According to a report by a Norway-based watchdog group, “The Chinese squid vessels were documented using wide nets to illegally catch already overfished tuna as part of a surge in unregulated activity in the Indian Ocean.” The report also highlighted growing concerns over the lack of international cooperation for protecting marine species of the high seas.
“The world’s largest overseas fleet dogged accusations of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing on numerous occasions. A significant number of Chinese vessels were sailing dark according to their tracking device, thereby indicating illegal activity,” the TMT wrote.
The report used a Greenpeace International survey and tracking devices to determine that certain highlighted vessels had a history of illegal activity and were spotted drifting towards Oman and Yemen. Similar discrepancies in tracking devices during summer indicated their fished for squid in the Pacific Ocean, off the west coast of South America.
(Avya Mathur)
