EJF Warns: China's Massive Fishing Fleet Devastates Oceans, Exploits Workers
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) has raised concerns about China's distant-water fishing fleet. A 2020 report reveals environmental destruction, labor exploitation, and human rights violations. The fleet, the world's largest, operates with poor transparency and inadequate oversight.
The EJF report highlights China's underreporting of fleet size and omission of human rights abuses in public disclosures. This lack of transparency allows the fleet to focus on resource-rich but ecologically sensitive areas, causing significant environmental damage.
Bottom trawlers, a common method used by the fleet, destroy entire ecosystems. This leads to long-term habitat destruction and coral reef collapse. The fleet's activities also contribute to human rights abuses and threaten global food security by reducing coastal stocks.
Between 2022 and 2024, Chinese-flagged vessels accounted for a staggering 44% of all visible global industrial fishing activity. The fleet consists of over 16,000 active vessels, making it the largest of its kind worldwide.
The EJF report underscores the urgent need for increased transparency and oversight of China's distant-water fishing fleet. Its activities, if left unchecked, could lead to further environmental degradation, human rights abuses, and global food security threats.
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