RIO DE JANEIRO -- About 260 Chinese fishing boats have been spotted operating in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Ecuador, between that country's mainland and its Galapagos Islands, a World Natural Heritage site.
The Ecuadorian government has called on China to exercise self-restraint, fearing the ecological effects of overfishing, but the Chinese government has not complied, saying, "It's on the high seas and thus legal."
The presence of the fishing fleet was confirmed by the Ecuadorian Navy on July 16. The boats are believed to be fishing for sharks for the purpose of collecting shark fins, a Chinese delicacy, on the high seas between Ecuador's two exclusive economic zones -- one extending 200 nautical miles (about 370 kilometers) from the mainland and the other extending the same distance around the Galapagos Islands. The navy constantly monitors whether fishing boats enter the EEZ to fish.
President Lenin Moreno said in a speech Saturday that the waters where the Chinese boats were fishing for sharks are not only a rich fishing area but also a treasure house of life on Earth. The remark suggests the president effectively asked the Chinese government to be careful not to overfish, from the viewpoint of conserving marine resources. He also said he will discuss the matter with Chile, Peru and other countries on the Pacific coast.
The Ecuadorian government is taking a stern approach because Chinese fishing boats had illegally fished before.
According to the electronic edition of local newspaper El Comercio and other sources, in August 2017, Ecuadorian authorities seized a Chinese ship that was illegally operating in a marine sanctuary about 64 kilometers east of San Cristobal Island on the eastern tip of the Galapagos Islands. About 6,600 sharks, including endangered hammerhead sharks, were found aboard the ship. In 2015, about 200,000 shark fins were seized from a fishing boat manned by a Chinese crew.
Meanwhile, the Chinese Embassy in Ecuador has expressed dissatisfaction with the Ecuadorian government. On Thursday, the embassy posted a statement on its website, saying, "The Chinese fishing boats are operating legally on the high seas outside the EEZ, which poses no threat to anyone."
Read more from The Japan News at https://japannews.yomiuri.co.jp/
