China ramps up illegal fishing in lawless high seas off South America Sustainability of fisheries in the area compromised after a 'major' recent increase in Chinese-flagged factory ships in the South Pacific

Out on the lawless high seas off South America’s Pacific coast, a quiet war over the overfishing of endangered squid stocks is being waged – and China is winning. Environmentalists have long warned that the naturally bountiful Humboldt squid – named for a nutrient-rich current of Antarctic waters – could be vulnerable to unsustainable plunder. Similar stocks have already vanished from Argentine, Mexican and Japanese waters. But a “major” recent increase in Chinese-flagged vessels in the South Pacific has raised the stakes. There were 707 such fishing boats detected in 2020, according to the latest public data from…Read more …