MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

World fisheries beware: China is coming

China is fast becoming a formidable sea power of the other marine variety. It doesn't yet have monstrous aircraft carriers capable of delivering awesome fire power in the world's seven seas, but there is a huge fleet of small fishing trawlers flying Chinese flags that sail the ocean blue.

Yes, the Chinese like fish, too, braised or steamed. So the nets are cast far and wide, harvesting not only the delicious protein but also the ire of its near and not so near neighbors. On February 28, South Korea charged that in the preceding 12 days alone, as many as 152 Chinese boats were "detained" for illegal fishing activities in Korea's "Exclusive Economic Zone". These offending vessels from China, according to Korea's coast guards, often fail to abide by the bilateral fishing protocol between the two countries and operate in forbidden areas. This is not the first time China infringed on Korea's exclusive economic zones. On September 28, Korea intercepted two 125-ton Chinese trawlers at roughly the same spot.

Apparently, gunboats and diplomatic protest notes are not adequate deterrents for the fish-hungry Chinese. Just as Korean sea patrols were rounding up the hundred or so Chinese ships, another 20 Chinese fishing boats crossed the Equator and steamed straight into the custody of Papua New Guinea for violating the waters of that small Pacific island country, according to Australian media reports.

No corner of the world is too far for the Chinese. South America is now within easy reach of Chinese seafarers. On November 19, 219 Chinese fishermen on board nine Chinese fishing vessels got into trouble in Peruvian territorial waters, and were escorted by the Peruvian navy into holding pens at a Peru port 10 miles from Lima.

So what makes China, a traditionally earth-bound nation, increasingly adventurous in the high seas? It is the economy, of course. With China's economic growth averaging over 8% annually since 1978, wealth is increasing at an unprecedented rate and with it the diet begins to go upscale. Per capita consumption of fishery products rose two-fold from 2.5 kilograms in 1988 to 5.2kg in 2002. Aquaculture accounted for a mere 2% of the total agricultural output in 1980 but exploded 500% to 11% in 2000. Export of fresh water and sea products is a lucrative business. From 2002, China overtook Thailand as the biggest exporter of fishery produce in the world. Last year, sales of 2.42 million tons of fish to the world market earned China US$6.9 billion. The problem, however, is that such healthy demand both at home and abroad far outstrips the domestic production, estimated at 48.5 million metric tons in 2004.

Fewer fresh-water rivers and coastal waters are now clean enough for aquaculture production, due to the boom in industrial manufacturing that adds relentlessly to the pollution. For example, China's state-owned petroleum companies operate over 100 oil rigs in the Yellow Sea, making vast sea areas unfit for fish to lay eggs, driving away the fragile sea life. Tianjin's many chemical mills discharge their waste directly into the sea leaving a wake of destruction on the surface of the sea. After each such deadly release, fishermen have to take days off, hanging up their nets in frustration. Nearby, the port of Tanggu is busy expanding its already impressive array of wharfs and berths, gobbling up another 200 acres of sea, threatening the biggest fishing ground off the coastal city in northern China.

Policy, too, contributes heavily to the outward expansion of Chinese fishery production. Worried about the dwindling supply of fish in coastal seas, China is now looking beyond its borders. Beginning from 1999, the government ordered a "fallow period", about two to three months each year, in the Yellow and East seas, affecting as many as 110,000 vessels and more than one million people making a living out of the seas. The temporary ban has since then been extended to the Yangtze River and its tributaries. In 2003, the central government further tightened its control on building and sales of new fishing vessels in an effort to put 30,000 smaller ships out of business by 2010. To sweeten the deal, China provides a subsidy to fishermen who are forced to scuttle their ships.

At the same time, deep-sea fishing has received a boost from preferential policies and encouragement by the government. Today over 1,800 ocean-going fishing vessels of Chinese registry are plying the waters near some 40 countries in three oceans.

Strength does come from numbers sometimes. Thus it becomes inevitable this big fleet gets more and more adventurous and closer and closer to other people's territories. It is true that the Chinese government has tried to rein in the ever-expanding fishermen from trespassing. Beijing has signed bilateral agreements with many of its Asian neighbors and participated in joint police actions with Korean, Vietnamese and even the United States coast guards in catching its own fishing boats in international waters.

However, the economic incentive proves too much to resist. The shrinking home turf makes it necessary to defy foreign law and danger in order to survive. The Gulf of Tonkin is particularly rife with strife between China and Vietnam, which is equally anxious for economic growth. Rivalry between fishermen from the two countries routinely escalates into diplomatic disputes. In one month alone in 2003, Vietnam detained seven Chinese vessels that were accused of marine "breaking and entering". Not one to show weakness to a former vassal state, China began flexing its own naval muscles. On January 8 this year, machine guns roared on the sea of Tonkin and nine Vietnamese fishermen were killed. Hanoi demands Beijing punish the "murderous" Chinese fishermen, while China maintains that it acted in self-defense against "foreign pirates".

At this rate, should China's navy ever acquire an aircraft carrier or two, its large international fleet of fishing vessels will soon ride high and plough deep through every square mile on the seven seas.

By Li YongYanAnalyst of Chinese finance, political and social trends.