China imposes voluntary fishing moratorium in northern Indian Ocean after being linked to illegal catches
- Agriculture ministry announces three-month bans for southwest Atlantic and north Indian Ocean and later one in the eastern Pacific
- Two separate reports suggest Chinese trawlers have been involved in illegal fishing in the Indian Ocean
China has launched a voluntary fishing moratorium covering international waters in the northern Indian Ocean for the first time.
During the fishing moratorium, all Chinese distant-water fishing vessels, including squid boats and trawlers, must stop fishing in related waters, the ministry said.
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Since 2020, China has brought in voluntary fishing bans on key high-seas fishing grounds in the southwest Atlantic and eastern Pacific for two consecutive years, according to the ministry.
Earlier reports suggest Chinese trawlers have been involved in illegal fishing in the Indian Ocean.
A report released in December by Norway-based watchdog group Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) said Chinese vessels had been documented using wide nets to illegally catch already overfished tuna as part of a surge in unregulated activity in the Indian Ocean.
It said the number of squid vessels on the high seas of the Indian Ocean had exploded six-fold since 2016, and the vast majority of the vessels sailing on the high seas off the coast of Oman and Yemen were flagged to China.
