Chile keeps eye on Chinese fishing fleet along South American coast

[Judi Lynn]

OCTOBER 8, 20203:50 PMUPDATED 4 HOURS AGO

By Natalia A. Ramos Miranda
2 MIN READ


SANTIAGO (Reuters) - The Chilean government is keeping close tabs on a large fleet of Chinese fishing vessels that has stirred up controversy further north along the Pacific coast of South America, Foreign Minister Andres Allamand said on Thursday.

Allamand said Chile´s Defense Ministry and Navy were monitoring the advance of the fleet in order to protect the “sovereignty” of the country´s exclusive economic zone.

The fleet consists of some 300 ships that frequent the Pacific Ocean, often around Peruvian waters, Allamand said.

The boats, previously fishing for giant squid near the Galapagos Islands off Ecuador, angered the domestic fishing industry in Peru last month and sparked a Twitter war between Washington and Beijing.

More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-chile-fishing-china/chile-keeps-eye-on-chinese-fishing-fleet-along-south-american-coast-idUSKBN26T3IL?rpc=401&

[StClone]

1. Wealth, growing taste for seafood, large population, Climate Change

Are forcing China's large fleet of super trawlers to push the limits all over the oceans. The past challenges to protect the world fisheries is facing a massive effort by China to harvest anything usable with targets on specific species. Ghosts are all that will remain soon if China doesn't relent.