The Hemisphere In-Flux 🌎 High Seas Hijack: China's Massive Fishing Fleet in South American Waters
We're excited to introduce a new feature in our newsletter: one monthly deep dive into a specific issue impacting the Americas. This week, we're examining China's distant-water fishing gle
The Hemisphere In-Flux features selected stories and news from journalists and media organizations covering Latin America and the Western Hemisphere's most pressing challenges – and opportunities: security, migration, the environment and technology and innovation. The Hemisphere In-Flux is published weekly.
We're excited to introduce a new feature in our newsletter: one monthly deep dive into a specific issue impacting the Americas. In these special editions, every month’s last week, we'll focus exclusively on a single topic to provide you with comprehensive insights and analysis. This week, we're examining the extensive operations of China's distant-water fishing fleet, which, with between 3,000 and 17,000 vessels, has been depleting marine ecosystems and fisheries in Latin America, leading to significant geopolitical tensions. Our coverage includes the economic impact on local communities and the environmental consequences, including the vaquita marina’s likely extinction. Additionally, we explore the geopolitical responses from affected nations and the measures being undertaken to address them. This comprehensive analysis aims to shed light on the multifaceted challenges posed by China's fishing activities in Latin American waters. Let’s dive in!
The Big Picture
In a relentless pursuit of the ocean's bounty, China's distant-water fishing fleet has cast an ominous shadow over Latin America's rich marine ecosystems.
China has built the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet, with nearly 3,000 industrial-scale ships according to official records, operating across the globe and dramatically impacting marine ecosystems. As stocks deplete near its shores, China has expanded its reach into the Pacific and the South Atlantic, often using legal loopholes or outright illegal practices, such as disabling tracking systems to avoid detection. This massive fleet is heavily subsidized by the Chinese government, enabling ships to remain at sea for extended periods by transshipping their catch to refrigerated mother ships.
The impact on local communities is profound. In Peru, for instance, artisanal fishermen have reported a staggering 70% decline in jumbo squid catches, a downturn they attribute to the relentless operations of Chinese fleets near their shores. This decline not only threatens the livelihoods of those who depend on fishing but also jeopardizes the delicate balance of marine life in the area. Similarly, Ecuador has faced challenges with Chinese vessels operating near the Galápagos Islands, raising concerns about the preservation of this unique ecosystem. In Argentina, tensions have escalated to the point where the coast guard has had to intervene, highlighting the severity of the incursions.
The extensive operations of China's distant-water fishing fleet have far-reaching consequences that extend beyond environmental degradation, profoundly affecting local economies and international relations – including using the fleets for geopolitical goals, affecting local fishermen by ravaging fisheries and illicit practices.
Why It Matters
Unchecked industrial fishing is threatening global marine biodiversity, disrupting local economies, and creating geopolitical instability. The Chinese fleet’s indiscriminate fishing techniques—such as squid-jigging, bottom trawling, and high-seas transshipment—deplete key species that sustain entire food chains. The collapse of squid stocks in regions like the South Pacific and North Korean waters has triggered economic and humanitarian crises, particularly for small-scale artisanal fishermen in Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina.
In addition, these fleets are often linked to forced labor and human rights abuses, with reports of workers spending months or years at sea in exploitative conditions (Diálogo Américas). Illegal operations also allow endangered species to be caught and trafficked—most notably sharks for finning and totoaba fish for their swim bladders prized by the Chinese for traditional medicine and aphrodisiac purposes.
Beyond environmental concerns, China’s fishing practices are also a geopolitical tool. The country has used its fleet to assert control over disputed waters, particularly in the South China Sea, where its vessels act as an informal maritime militia to push other nations out. In fact, fishing operations of this scale are not only contributing to the decline of fish stocks and biodiversity degradation but have led to countries like Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina repeatedly protesting China’s presence near their exclusive economic zones (EEZs). China's strategy of deploying its fishing fleet as an informal maritime militia to assert control of the South China Sea serves as a cautionary example for Latin American nations.
Depleting the Oceans
The economic devastation is particularly evident in Latin America, where thousands of artisanal fishermen in Peru, Ecuador, and Argentina are struggling to compete with China’s heavily subsidized industrial fleets. In Peru, the squid catch has dropped by 70%, forcing many fishermen to abandon their trade and seek other jobs, such as farming or driving moto-taxis (WSJ). Ecuadorian fishermen in the Galápagos Islands report that their livelihoods are under direct threat, as nearly 99% of the fishing near the islands is now done by Chinese vessels. Even in West Africa, Chinese ships have overfished key species, disrupting local economies that depend on marine resources.
The environmental impact of China’s industrial fishing is already being felt worldwide. In several key regions, particularly in the South Pacific and Argentina’s Blue Hole, squid populations have plummeted due to overfishing. Squid are a crucial link in marine ecosystems, feeding whales, dolphins, and sharks. Their rapid depletion threatens to create cascading effects that could destabilize entire food chains. Despite conservation efforts, enforcement remains weak, allowing Chinese fleets to continue exploiting international waters with little consequence.
These ecosystems are rich in biodiversity. The Argentine Blue Hole, located approximately 500 kilometers east of the Gulf of San Jorge in Argentine Patagonia, is a biologically rich area where the continental shelf extends beyond the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), creating nutrient-rich upwellings that support diverse marine life, including sponges, corals, and migratory species like the southern right whale. Meanwhile, the Galápagos Marine Reserve –encompassing diverse ecosystems such as coral reefs, underwater cliffs, and lagoons– provides habitats for over 2,900 marine species, including whales, dolphins, sea lions, marine iguanas, and numerous fish species.
Cod War
The geopolitical tensions caused by China’s fishing operations are also escalating. Countries like Argentina, Ecuador, and Indonesia have taken drastic measures to push back, from military patrols to outright sinking Chinese vessels caught illegally fishing. In 2016, the Argentine coast guard sank a Chinese fishing boat after it attempted to flee into international waters. While Latin American countries’ responses have not been as challenging as Indonesia’s, which has used F-16 fighter jets and naval patrols to deter Chinese incursions, countries like Ecuador have protested repeatedly over the fleets operating just outside its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Argentina has deployed four new military patrol ships to combat illegal fishing after sinking a Chinese vessel in 2016. Despite these actions, China continues to expand its fishing dominance, treating international backlash as a cost of doing business.
The human rights abuses linked to China’s distant-water fleet are another major concern. Reports from the International Labour Organization estimate that at least 128,000 fishermen are trapped in forced labor conditions, working 20-hour shifts for months or even years at sea before they can escape. Survivors describe extreme abuse, starvation, and even deaths aboard these vessels, making the Chinese fleet not just an environmental threat but a human rights crisis.
What’s Next
At the heart of the issue is weak enforcement and regulatory loopholes that allow China’s fleet to continue operating largely unchecked. The High Seas Treaty, finalized by the United Nations in 2023, aims to protect marine biodiversity and regulate overfishing in international waters, but its impact depends on how strictly it is enforced. China has announced some reforms, including a three-month fishing moratorium near the Galápagos and the South Atlantic, but critics argue these concessions are largely symbolic and designed to occur when fish stocks are naturally low. With illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing having an estimated annual cost of $23 billion, the world faces an urgent challenge to strengthen oversight before entire fisheries collapse.
In recent days, a letter of intent signed by the Argentine province of Santa Cruz and the Chinese company Hongdong Fisheries to provide port support for Chinese fishing vessels operating in Argentina's Exclusive Economic Zone has sparked significant alarm. Experts warn that Hongdong Fisheries, already notorious for illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing as well as human rights abuses—including disabling tracking systems to evade detection—may use this support to intensify its harmful practices. Signed in November by Governor Claudio Vidal during a visit to Fuzhou, the agreement envisions modernizing local port infrastructure, including upgrades to five provincial ports, new shipyards, and fish processing plants, but critics fear it could lead to further depletion of marine resources, economic harm to local fisheries, and severe environmental impacts on the region.
China’s aggressive expansion in the fishing industry is about more than just food security—it is a strategic tool for economic and territorial influence. The country’s deep-sea fleet operates not just as a commercial entity but as an informal maritime militia, which could be used as leverage for the country’s rising geopolitical clout. By overwhelming key fishing areas with sheer numbers and intimidating competitors, Chinese vessels are advancing the country’s super-power ambitions in the Americas under the guise of private enterprise. Without coordinated international action, China’s unchecked overfishing could push global fish stocks to the brink while fueling economic, humanitarian, and geopolitical crises worldwide.
The Cold Hard Facts
China operates nearly 3,000 deep-sea fishing vessels, the largest fleet in the world, according to official data. Yet, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) puts the number closer to 17,000 Chinese distant-water fishing boats globally, with many going undetected by official records – as almost 1000 Chinese vessels are registered in other countries. By comparison, the United States’ distant water fishing fleet has fewer than 300 vessels.
600 Chinese fishing vessels operate annually near Argentina’s waters, targeting the rich Blue Hole ecosystem.
Squid catches in Peruvian waters have declined 70% since the rise of industrial Chinese fleets. Meanwhile, 300 tons of sharks were found illegally transported by a single Chinese vessel and intercepted in Ecuadorian waters in 2017.
99% of the fishing near the Galápagos is done by Chinese vessels, outcompeting local Ecuadorian fishermen. And it’s done in sneaky ways: 325 out of 340 ships in a 2020 Chinese fleet near the Galápagos turned off their transponders to avoid detection. According to the ODI, at least 183 vessels in China’s distant-water fishing fleet are suspected of involvement in IUU fishing.
The global fishing industry receives about $35 billion in subsidies annually, with $20 billion boosting large fleets through fuel subsidies and tax breaks, according to the European Parliament’s Committee on Fisheries. Over 60% of this spending is classified as harmful by the WTO for promoting unsustainable fishing. Surveys show that China, the EU, the US, South Korea, Thailand, and Japan are the biggest spenders.
700+ Chinese fishing boats have been caught illegally fishing in North Korean waters, violating UN sanctions.
The U.S. Coast Guard has boarded and inspected Chinese vessels off the coast of South America.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing worldwide costs up to $23 billion dollars, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The Postcard: The Vaquita’s Silent Extinction
China's demand for totoaba swim bladders, which are considered a luxury delicacy and a key ingredient in traditional medicine, is directly driving the vaquita marina (Phocoena sinus) –a 4.ft-long porpoise– to the brink of extinction. Despite being a critically endangered species, with only around 10 individuals remaining, these marine mammals continue to be ensnared in gillnets illegally set for totoaba in Mexico’s Gulf of California. These nets, which are banned under international conservation agreements, trap and drown vaquitas as bycatch, accelerating their decline.
The black market for totoaba swim bladders operates through sophisticated trafficking networks, with shipments moving in bulk through criminal syndicates rather than individual transactions. The rise of online marketplaces has further exacerbated the problem, making it easier for traffickers to connect with buyers. According to the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), since 2020, more than 230 totoaba swim bladders have been sold online, with WeChat—a Chinese messaging and payment app—becoming a major hub for illicit wildlife trade.
Between 2021 and 2023, the number of totoaba-related posts on WeChat quintupled, reflecting the relaxation of China’s COVID-era wildlife trade restrictions. Although Mexico introduced a 2023 action plan to combat illegal totoaba fishing—including increased surveillance, alternative fishing gear programs, and intelligence sharing—the United States and conservation organizations remain skeptical about its enforcement. Meanwhile, China has done little to crack down on demand, allowing traffickers to continue smuggling totoaba swim bladders into the country through well-established networks.
Unless urgent coordinated international action is taken to end this trade, the vaquita marina will likely become extinct within the next few years.
 | A guest post by
|
 | A guest post by
|