[ad_1]
The large fishing fleet with Chinese flag that was seen in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Ecuador, between the mainland and the Galapagos Islands, is already about 400 nautical miles from Chilean waters, reveals an ocean trail.
After periodic monitoring, indicates the organization, apparently many of these vessels have turned off their Automatic Identification Systems (AIS), which could be an indication of illegal behavior, such as the crossing of the maritime borders of some nations in the southern cone.
It would be about 300 boats that, during July and August, were positioned around the Galapagos National Park of Ecuador, where they would have carried out fishing activities that, due to their magnitude, put the highest authorities in South America on alert. Despite having left the area, this same fleet continues its route through South America and, according to recent analysis of satellite images, it was shown that they are already at the limit of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Peru and 400 nautical miles northeast of Chile’s EEZ, likely in the direction of the country.
The information was unveiled by Oceana, which analyzed the navigation routes of the vessels through the Global Fishing Watch platform, in which a total of 126 vessels could be detected that, apparently, they fished for 23,896 hours, from August 14 to September 19 between Ecuador and Peru.
Hidden boats
From the marine conservation organization they explain that the reduction in the number of boats would not respond to the withdrawal of some of these boats, but rather to irregular actions.
“According to the latest data, we can see that the number of vessels decreased from 300 to 126; we know that these boats did not disappear and few of them are seen leaving the area. The size of this fleet should be cause enough of concern and, even more, when it is likely that they are shutting down their automatic identification systems, “said Marla Valentine, Analyst for Illegal Fishing and Transparency at Oceana’s office in the United States.
The analyst also explains that a higher number of transshipments have been observed in the last month, which could be an indicator that the vessels have increased their fishing effort as they sail south. Although transshipment is not an illegal practice, it does allow vessels to unload their catch and continue fishing without entering any port.
The presence of Chinese vessels fishing in South America is not news to the director of Oceana Chile, Liesbeth van der Meer, who explains that this is repeated annually.
“We have seen in previous years how hundreds of these ships have been located right on the edge of the Juan Fernández and Nazca Desventuradas marine parks, where the Chilean Navy has been in charge of monitoring and maintaining said vessels outside our Exclusive Economic Zone. “Says van der Meer and adds that the fleet would” aim to catch cuttlefish or any other species of commercial importance, with a gigantic fishing capacity. “
César Astete, director of the Oceana Chile Fisheries Campaign, reaffirms this point, noting that according to reports from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), China is by far the largest fishing power in the world.
“An international commitment in this matter is necessary, considering that Worldwide, 65% of fish stocks are overexploited, and the action of Chinese vessels compromises the recovery in those territories where we are working to protect fish breeding areas ”, Astete sentenced.
It is estimated that almost 17 thousand Chinese vessels operate in international waters, accounting for 40% of the world’s fishing effort. The Asian country also ranks last in the Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Index (IUU), and its fleet has been constantly involved in overfishing activities, capture of endangered species, violation of country jurisdictions. , alterations of fishing documentation and forced labor.
[ad_2]
