U.S. Coast Guard Blasts 270 Chinese Fishing Boats of South American Coast

No mercy, u.s coast guard has blown up again 270 chinese fishing ships off south america coast. Ecuador's navy confirmed a large chinese fishing fleet of roughly 270 vessels is moving away from the galapagos islands and is now operating in international waters off Peru. The ecuadorian commander of naval operations rear admiral Daniel Ginas said this week that the Chinese vessels are now in offshore waters off the exclusive economic zone of Peru. He added that this year's fleet was larger compared with those of previous years.

With such a large number of fishing boats we have the risk that certain species are diminished Gina's cautioned. Experts told voa that china's aggressive fishing not only threatens the sovereignty of coastal countries but also endangers global food security and marine ecology. China's large fishing fleets operating along the pacific coast have triggered concerns from several south american countries for the past few months.

In june about 340 large chinese trawlers ventured into waters near ecuador. triggering protests over possible threats to the galapagos islands a unesco world heritage site and home to many unique species. These chinese vessels were accused of frequently turning off their satellite-based automatic identification systems and entering the ecuadorian exclusive economic zone according to media reports.

Yet Ecuador's admiral Gina said no vessels of the fishing fleet entered ecuadorian waters while operating near the galapago. Peru's and ecuador's economies are highly dependent on seafood in 2018 the two countries captured 4.5 million metric tons of fish nearly as much as the united states but only 25 percent of what China harvested in the same year, according to statistics from the world bank.

Both countries say china's mega fishing fleets are threatening the security of their food source. China ranks at the top of the world in demand for seafood. The country's fish consumption accounts for one-third of the world's total amount with an annual growth rate of six percent.

Analysts say many chinese vessels conduct illegal unreported and unregulated IU fishing activities that threaten the sovereignty of other nations and endanger the global food security chain. Rashid Sumaila director of the fisheries economics research unit at the university of british columbia's institute for the oceans and fisheries told VOA that with the waters near china mostly depleted of fish. The nation has to forage elsewhere. there is big appetite for fish in china which makes it worthwhile economically to engage in iu fishing, he said.