China is a major fishing power. Huge. Huge. The data leaves little doubt about its dominance. The FAO assures us that nearly a third (32%) of the tonnes produced by the world’s fisheries are related to China; some sources put the figure at 40% of the global supply. The World Bank calculates that their catch exceeds that of the second and third powers combined, and that their influence is huge in both aquaculture and wild fisheries.

But China’s footprint in the industry extends beyond its own national fishing grounds and the high seas. A recent study by The Outlaw Ocean found that it is increasingly present, albeit indirectly, in the national waters of other countries in South America, Africa and the Pacific.

China’s footprint. The data from Our World in Data is clear: between wild catch and aquaculture, around 200 million tons of fish and seafood are produced each year in the world. And China has a very large weight in this balance. In 2021, it produced 62.24 million tons, or 31%. The figures are in line with those of the FAO, which estimated in a sectoral report that the Asian giant reported a fishing production equivalent to 32% of the total by weight.

The World Bank tables are equally revealing. Its technicians estimate that total fishery production in 2021 was 216,986,542 metric tons, of which 85,984,134 were related to China. The top 3 fishery sectors are completed by Indonesia and India, albeit with much lower figures. Their balance sheets show something else: Global fishery production has increased rapidly over the past six decades.

Beyond the (distant) watersWhat The Outlaw Ocean has just revealed is a journalistic investigative enterprise whose conclusions are already echoing in media like the magazine. TimeCiper Chile or day Boston GlobeChina’s fishing footprint extends far beyond its national waters or offshore fishing grounds. The Asian giant has also established itself in the territorial waters of other nations in South America, Africa and the Pacific.

And not through Chinese-flagged vessels that sneak into other countries’ national waters to fish illegally, as was the case with the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 10 in 2016. The key to China’s expansion is another: intermediary companies that allow it to “buy” access to fishing grounds that would otherwise be off-limits.

One word: marking. Strictly speaking, “flagging” is nothing more than authorizing a ship to fly a country’s flag and be subject to that country’s laws. But in the case of China’s fishing expansion, the term is used with a related nuance: It describes the tactic that allows the Asian giant to access foreign fishing grounds using foreign-flagged vessels.

Like? The system is relatively simple. Companies enter into commercial agreements that allow them to register foreign vessels under the flag of the relevant country and allow them to fish in sovereign territorial waters.

CNFC example. Outlaw Ocean offers a concrete example. In 2017, a year after the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 10 illegally invaded fishing grounds off the coast of Patagonia, the Argentine Federal Fisheries Council issued fishing licenses to two vessels. The vessels were foreign, but they were allowed to operate in territorial waters because they flew the Argentine flag, thanks to what The Outlaw Ocean calls a “local front company.” The real “beneficial” owner, it claims, is another company: the state-owned China National Fisheries Corporation, or CNFC.

Is it that common? Yes, at least according to data collected by the organization. Its report says that Chinese companies control at least 62 industrial fishing vessels flying the Argentine flag, including the majority of the country’s fleet dedicated to catching squid, as well as around 250 other “flagged” vessels in foreign waters, such as those from Micronesia, Kenya, Ghana, Senegal, Morocco and even Iran.

The researchers say the trend is “particularly pronounced” in Africa, where Chinese companies operate flagged vessels in the territorial waters of at least nine countries. Ghana alone has at least 70.

Moreover, they argue, citing a report by the Environmental Justice Foundation, that up to 95% of the country’s trawler fleet is Chinese-owned. According to a US investigation, there will be at least half a dozen other vessels in Morocco, and China also operates in Fiji, the Solomon Islands or the Federated States of Micronesia, either through vessels flying those countries’ flags or through access agreements.

“Leasing methods”Is China’s tactic permissible? Outlaw Ocean agrees that it is legal in many cases, and notes that the Chinese government is also aware of companies entering foreign waters through “leases and subleases” from the country.

This strategy is also less aggressive than those used by ships like the Lu Yuan Ya 10, which venture from international waters into sovereign fishing grounds, risking unleashing political strife and even sinking, which was the end of the Lu Yuan Ya 10. The Argentine guard chased it away.

A controversial tactic. That it represents a change in the nature of illegal attacks does not mean that the “flagging” of ships is without controversy. And for several reasons. In two instances of licenses granted by Argentina in 2017, for example, the beneficiary was the Chinese company CNFC, which owns the Lu Yan Yuan Yu 10, which authorities caught red-handed. Outlaw Ocean also argues that Argentine law prohibits foreign-owned vessels from flying the Argentine flag or fishing in territorial waters.

The organization also warns that among the Chinese companies controlling “flagged” ships, there are some that have been linked to throwing fish into the sea, disabling their transponders or tax evasion and fraud crimes.

Another important point is that the formula avoids some of the objectives that fully “protect” territorial waters, such as ensuring that wealth remains in the country, sovereignty or food security. Much of what is caught in Argentina goes to foreign countries, such as the United States.

A shortcut to avoiding commitments? There would be another key. Years ago, China bought a massive fleet of thousands of deep-sea vessels, bowing to pressure from environmental groups that warned of the risks of overfishing in the oceans and vowed to reduce the number of vessels.

Does this take into account “flagged” ships operating through commercial and trade agreements and flying foreign flags? The Outlaw Ocean report also casts doubt on the conditions under which seafarers work on at least some of its ships.

Images | Takashi Hososhima (Flickr)

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