The Chinese navy of fishermen who were in front of the seas returned to settle in the Galapagos Islands

A large fleet of Chinese fishing boats again intercepts the Galapagos Islands. The Mor Calabagos effort, dedicated to the conservation and protection of the archipelago’s marine reserves, was condemned this Tuesday The first Chinese industrial fishing vessel Shun Jing settled in the south of the 18 islands.

“We ask for concrete steps to ensure that they do not enter the exclusive economic zone.”, Requested as a group On their social networks, In which they also mention the President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso.

Elizar Cruz, A spokesman for Mass Galapagos pointed out that Global Fish Watch is monitoring the trajectory of Chinese ships. They are currently in international waters.

“Most of the navy is 400 kilometers west of the archipelago, which is still a long way off, but as this navy is operating they are sending one or two ships forward., Cruz pointed out, Ecuadorian newspaper reported Trade.

“The officers are working hardWe will continue to monitor the trajectory of these ships, ”he added.

Gustavo Monrik, The media minister said the navy was located 200 miles off the coast of Ecuador. He warned If there is a breach in the economic zone of the country, there will be sanctions.

“We have protocols, fast moving boats, we have an agreement with the Government of Canada to find out when they want to turn off navigation equipment in a way that is not regulated,” he said. It has been a month since it was acquired and everything is under control to prevent these boats from entering, ”said an Ecuadorian official.

He pointed out that the government has been monitoring the water situation in the country since day one: “We have been monitoring the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Communications, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Production since day one. With satellite issues, including aviation issues, which guarantee that these ships will not enter the Ecuadorian border. ”

Cruise recalled that last year the Chinese navy was said to have up to 300 ships. In this sense, he called on the Foreign Ministry and the National Navy to redouble their efforts Prevent Chinese fishing vessels from entering the country’s economic zone.

In August 2020, the Ecuadorian Navy announced that 149 of the 325 ships, mostly Chinese-flagged They shut down their satellite surveillance and communications systems to avoid monitoring fishing activities around the archipelago, thus violating global fishing agreements (RFMOs).

Former Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Louis Caligos, A foreign fishing navy, mainly of Chinese descent, announced the move from Special Economic Zone It surrounds the Galapagos Islands north of Peru.

Following the allegations, the Chinese embassy in Ecuador promised that its ships would comply.Definitely”Security measures and He denied that there were any Chinese vessels engaged in illegal fishing.

However, The continued maneuvers of the Chinese navy have placed Xi Jinping’s regime at the center of the controversy.

“The size and aggression of this navy against marine life is a major threat to the balance of life in Galapagos.”The former environment minister then said, Yolanda Kakapatse, In an interview Defender.

Galapagos –The United Nations has declared it a World Heritage Site-, one of the richest ecosystems on the planet’s biodiversity is at risk. “When we went on cruise ships we saw them on the beaches of distant places Beautiful Chinese bottles”, He noted Natalie Constant, An island guide. He also told local media that even sharks – many of them tracked by GPS – “They go further and further.”

“As fish stocks in inland waters dwindle and are encouraged by subsidies, China’s long-distance fishing fleet continues to sail more and more and their companies are building more and more vessels to meet the growing demand for fish. Marine products.”Explained The Voice of America Miren Gutierrez is a (one-day) co-researcher at the London-based Overseas Development Agency. The company operated about 17,000 Chinese vessels worldwide.

At the end of April last year, The province of Argentina also had to act before mobilizing Chinese ships to reduce Argentine waters.

Chinese regime announces last-minute suspension of world’s largest fishing fleet from catching squid in parts of the Pacific and Atlantic Excessive fishing brought those people to the brink of collapse.

China catches up to 70% of the world’s squid And its ships reach West Africa and Latin America to satisfy seafood hunger in the country.

But Chinese ships will stop operations at the main squid spawning grounds in the southwest Atlantic, Near Argentina, from Thursday to September 30, and in the Pacific from September to November, the Ministry of Agriculture announced on Monday. The ban comes in the wake of an international backlash against China’s largest foreign navy, which has been accused of over-exploitation and damaging vulnerable marine ecosystems.

Restricted areas are breeding grounds for two of the most popular squid species: Argentina short-fine squid and Humboldt squid.

Argentina’s short-sighted squid population has been low in recent years. The average catch of Chinese vessels in the Southwest Atlantic was just 50 tons in 2019, up from 2,000 tons previously, according to the Squid Fisher Association of China.

“China is the world’s largest squid consumer, and its capture has left those responsible”, Emerged Zhao Wei, Greenpeace is a marine environmental protection expert in China. I add: “It is important to ensure a steady supply of shellfish to ensure food security.”

China’s long-distance water fishing navy has more 2,600 ships, Ten times more than the United States. Nearly a third is devoted to squid fishing.

“China temporarily bans squid fishing for maritime health Given the large amount of catches, ”he said Zhang Jihong, Marine Biologist at China Yellow Sea Fisheries Research Institute.

The Chinese fishing industry employs more than 14 million people, and 30 million people depend on fish for their livelihood. But as stocks in their country dwindle, Chinese fishermen travel further distances and are embroiled in a maritime dispute.

Is illegal fishing According to the 2017 report of the Global Financial Integrity, the 6th most profitable criminal economy in the world is estimated at $ 15-36 billion. The Chinese fishing navy, with about 17,000 boats, is by far the largest in the world, the protagonist of this issue, and China appears to be the country with the worst rating of illegal fishing in the 2019 Global Initiative Report.

Although this is a long-standing issue, he saidThe Chinese fishing navy became a particular concern after 2016. Since then, it has sparked intense annual alerts Ecuador, Peru, Chile and Argentina. Only on Chile, According to the 2020 Athena Lab report, illegal fishing costs the country $ 300 million a year. EcuadorEnvironmental concerns have been immediate since 2017, following the case of the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999, a ship intercepted inside the UNESCO-protected Galapagos Marine Reserve. With more than 300 tons of sharks, including the endangered species Hammerhead fish.

Last year, the U.S. Coast Guard mobilized the ship in the face of increasing maneuvers by the Chinese navy. USCGC Bertolph To support the Ecuadorian naval patrol around the EEZ. Then It was maintained by U.S. Admiral Carl Schultz, commander of the Coast Guard In addition to the fight against drug and theft, illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing has become a high priority for marine safety.

(With information from El Comorcio, AFP and EFE)

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