China to limit squid fishing fleet over environmental concerns

Name: Argentine coast guard opens fire on Chinese fishing boat
Uploaded: 2021-11-08T11:55:40.000Z
Duration: 1 min 41 s
Description: Argentine coast guard opens fire on Chinese fishing boat

Number of vessels at sea to be capped under new rules announced by agriculture ministry

Chinese boats account for up to 70 per cent of global squid catch and have been sanctioned and criticised for their conduct in international waters

2-MIN READ2-MIN

Chinese fishing boats band together to thwart an attempt by South Korean coastguard ships to stop their alleged illegal fishing off the coast of South Korea. Photo: AFP

Amber Wang

Published: 7:55pm, 8 Nov 2021Updated: 8:12pm, 8 Nov 2021

China is set to cap for the first time the number of its squid fishing vessels operating in international waters, as it addresses concerns over fish stocks and environmental damage caused by its fleets.

New rules from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs “will play an important role in the scientific conservation and sustainable use of global fishery resources, and further demonstrate China’s responsible attitude as a large squid fishing country in high seas”, the ministry said in a notice.

The country reels in as much as 70 per cent of the global squid catch. It has more than 600 squid vessels, which caught more than 520,000 tonnes in 2018, according to statistics from China’s Institute of Oceanology.

The ministry’s notice said that no new squid fishing vessels would begin operating on the high seas, maintaining the present scale of the fleet.

01:41

Argentine coast guard opens fire on Chinese fishing boat

The limits were based on a scientific assessment of squid fishing grounds, it said.

The ministry said it would also improve its administration and import supervision, advocate conservation of squid resources, and explore a voluntary reduction in the number of vessels.