Mysterious seed packages arrive in the US from China
Department of Agriculture asks anyone who receives an unsolicited seed package to contact local agricultural officials; reaction and analysis by Gordon Chang, author of ‘The Coming Collapse of China.’
The largest Chinese fishing fleet in recent years has appeared off the coast of the Galapagos Islands, with some ships falsifying their locations, according to reports.
While the islands have been considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site since the 1970s, they sail Chinese fishing vessels every year. This year’s fleet has hosted 248 ships, 243 of which fly to China, with some registered with companies suspected of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, the Guardian reported.
ECUADOR NAVY ‘ON ALERT’ AS 260-STORE SUN FLEET WITHIN GALAPAGOS ISLANDS
The fleet may have tried to appear as if it were not at all near the Galapagos. News Hub in New Zealand reported that some of the ships may have sent false signals indicating that their position was between the Chatham Islands and New Zealand, about 10,000 km away from their observed location.
The arrival of the last fleet also caused public outcry and a formal complaint from Ecuador, as its navy is on alert for any invasion into Ecuadorian waters.
Global Fishing Watch and Skytruth analyst Bjorn Bergman told Stuff in New Zealand, “No Chinese flagship fishermen are currently fishing in EEZ of New Zealand [exclusive economic zone, which gives jurisdiction over natural resources].
“The tracks that appear below are in fact from ships near the Galapagos Islands that emit false coordinates.”
SCIENCES PUZZLEDT TO PARAGUAYAN LAGOON RIGHT ONE PAGE, REMAINS BLUE ON OTHER
Some of the ships hunted for ink, while others were accused of illegally hunting sharks.
“The size and aggressiveness of this fleet against marine species is a major threat to the balance of species in the Galápagos,” Yolanda Kakaabadse, a former environment minister, told the Guardian.
Kakabadse and a former Quito mayor, Roque Sevilla, took the lead in devising a ‘protection strategy’ for the islands. Seville said diplomatic efforts would be made to request the withdrawal of the fishing fleet, but it appears that the fleet will continue to operate.
CLICK HERE TO CLICK THE FOX NEWS APP
“They just pick everything up!” the captain of a tuna boat, who asked not to be named, told the Guardian. “We are obliged to take on board a biologist who monitors our migration; if we catch a shark we have to put it back, but who controls it? ‘
