[International] Pacific Island Nations Intercept Illegal Fishing, Detain Chinese and Indonesian Fishing Vessels
RtiTalk 小編2h ago
Pacific island nation officials told Agence France-Presse that several governments jointly cracked down on illegal fishing in August, detaining four Chinese and Indonesian fishing vessels.
A statement from the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency (FFA) to AFP stated that the governments of Kiribati, Palau, and Papua New Guinea detained or escorted four vessels to port for illegal fishing or violating fishing regulations.
The statement indicated that the detained vessels included Chinese and Indonesian fishing boats. Eleven Pacific island nations conducted a joint crackdown from August 3 to 14, inspecting over 100 fishing vessels in a maritime area of 28 million square kilometers.
Fisheries officials noted that half of the world's tuna catch comes from this region, but only 15% is processed or handled in Pacific island nations.
According to FFA statistics, these catches support the livelihoods of about one-third of households in Pacific island nations, generating $500 million in access fees and $1.2 billion in export revenue annually for these countries.
Most tuna is transported by distant-water fishing vessels to Asian markets, and fleets must pay access fees to fish within the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of Pacific island nations.
In a region where Chinese companies operate large distant-water fleets and have joint ventures with several Pacific island nations to establish fishing companies, publicly naming Chinese fishing vessels for alleged illegal activities is a sensitive topic.
Tuvalu, a diplomatic ally of Taiwan and a Pacific island nation, discovered a Chinese fishing vessel operating in its waters and falsifying coordinates in July. The vessel was detained for 24 days before being released after paying a fine.
According to reports, between 2008 and 2026, inspectors from the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) issued 278 penalty notices to Chinese fishing vessels, second only to Taiwan's 319 violations. (Editor: Song Wanyuan)
Source Link: https://www.rti.org.tw/news?uid=3&pid=227672
How does this article make you feel?
0 people reacted