How Did China’s Fishing Fleet Come to Dominate the World’s Oceans?

Paige Copenhaver completed a B.S. in Physics & Astronomy at the University of Georgia and then found a calling in ocean policy and conservation. Her goal is to use her unique interdisciplinary background to work toward protecting the world’s oceanic ecosystems through sustainable international policy solutions for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. 

A law enforcement officer communicating with fishers on a Chinese vessel during a security check for the Oceania Maritime Security Initiative mission to combat transnational crimes, enforce fisheries laws, and enhance regional security in the Pacific Ocean.

Two of this century’s most important issues are the future of the world’s oceans and the rise of China as a global economic and political power. China’s expanding global fishing fleet is at the interface of these two issues. The Chinese fishing industry has exploded in the last 30 years, and China now has the largest fishing fleet in the world with 200,000 to 800,000 total vessels. 

Many Chinese people regard the 21st century as the “ocean century,” and the nation has been developing military, economic, technological, and scientific capabilities to be a leader in the use of ocean resources. The Chinese fleet is driven by a rapidly rising global demand for fish products, and much of the fleet’s fishing activities are supported by Chinese government policies. 

The expanding Chinese fishing industry represents more than economic advancement or natural resource use. Their massive fishing fleet is causing a multitude of problems for ocean ecosystems, the humans who work aboard the fishing vessels, the global economy, and political relationships between nations. As Ian Urbina of the Outlaw Ocean Project describes the situation, “China’s fishing fleet is more than just a commercial concern; it acts as a projection of geopolitical power on the world’s oceans.”  

How has China put so many ships at sea? 

Like every fishing nation, China’s fishing industry began in their own exclusive economic zone (EEZ), an area of the sea stretching 200 nautical miles from a coastal state’s shore in which they have special rights to the area’s resources. China sent their first distant-water fleet (DWF) to West Africa in 1985, and now they have the largest DWF in the world with over 2,600 vessels operating in at least 40 countries’ EEZs and in the high seas. 

One reason for the global impact of China’s DWF is that the fleet is fueled by government subsidies to support the fishing industry financially and advance China’s strategic geopolitical goals. Subsidizing the fishing industry is not unique to China, however. In fact, more than half the global fishing industry would be unprofitable without government subsidies. While China is certainly not the only nation to subsidize its fishing fleet, by scale their subsidies are the largest by far. 

Consequences for the World’s Oceans 
The shift from fishing in China’s own EEZ to more offshore fishing has been accompanied by an increase in illegal fishing. Because of illegal fishing worldwide, oceans are quickly running out of fish. Fish populations are not able to reproduce faster than the rate they are being taken, so populations are dwindling. 

Consequences for Workers Aboard Vessels 
Human rights groups report a number of incidents of forced labor on Chinese fishing vessels. Fishers, many of whom are migrant workers, are vulnerable to severe forms of human rights abuse on ships. There are strong indicators that forced labor in the fisheries sector is linked to other crime such as illegal fishing, human trafficking, and corruption. 

Consequences for Political Relationships
The seaward expansion of China’s fleet impacts the fishing industries of other nations. Other nations’ smaller fleets simply cannot compete with the Chinese fishing fleet, and the unfair competition strains those political relationships. Additionally, by encouraging ships to venture into contested regions, government subsidies funding China’s fishing fleet have increased geopolitical tensions. 

China’s aggressive fishing strategy puts them in control of more than just fishing grounds. In the South China Sea and the Arctic’s Northern Sea Route, China claimed valuable shipping lanes as well as subsea oil and gas deposits. Few nations are willing to push back against such aggression, causing further tensions between China and other nations fighting for the same ocean resources. 

Origin of Chinese vessels fishing illegally in North Korea’s EEZ in 2017 and 2018, increasing political tension in the region.

Conclusion 

The Chinese government has implemented recent policy changes to combat illegal fishing by Chinese vessels. Additionally, the government has offered to restrict their DWF with a five-year plan to cap the fleet. These policies are promising, but they may be difficult to enforce because of the vastness of China’s fleet.  

Fisheries crime threatens marine ecosystems, impacts food security and sustainable fishing by coastal communities, and impacts human lives when it involves forced labor of trafficked fishers. Managing transboundary fish stocks, protecting workers on the ships, and alleviating transnational conflict will take international cooperation and better law enforcement on the seas. 

Transnational diplomatic discouragement of subsidizing unprofitable sectors of the fishing industry could be a beneficial first step in promoting international collaboration required to make positive changes in the global fishing industry.