China’s giant fleet of distant‑water fishing vessels is being called a “machine of environmental destruction and labour abuse” by a report on Sri Lanka’s Daily Mirror. The article warns that if China does not overhaul its fishing policies, the planet’s oceans, local food supplies and workers’ rights could suffer irreversible damage.
### A massive presence on the high seas
China runs the world’s largest distant‑water fleet, with more than 16,000 active ships – far beyond the government’s official limit of 3,000. Those vessels appear in nearly every oceanic region, from the Pacific Islands to West Africa and Latin America. A 2025 Oceana study shows Chinese‑flagged boats accounted for 44 % of all visible industrial fishing from 2022 to 2024 and clocked over 110 million hours at sea.
### Bottom trawlers, bottom‑line damage
Many of China’s largest ships use bottom trawlers, which drag heavy nets across the ocean floor. Those gears devastate habitats, shred coral reefs and wipe out entire benthic communities. Because the vessels often fly foreign flags, they slip past international regulations and create a long‑term loss of fish‑bearing ecosystems.
### Feeding the pressurised zones
The fleet targets already stressed regions. Pacific island and West African waters are already under pressure from climate change and overfishing. By snapping up huge catches, Chinese ships deprive local artisanal fishers of the fish that feed their families, eroding coastal incomes and jeopardising food security in communities that depend on the sea.
### Hidden subsidies and weak rules
China says its fleet follows “strict regulation.” Yet the Daily Mirror report argues the truth is quite different. Fuel subsidies, generous loans for vessel build-out and loopholes in reporting let the fleet profit from fisheries that shouldn’t even be viable. While the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs claims to curb illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, actual domestic reforms and international cooperation remain limited.
### What to do next
The report calls for stronger port‑state controls, clearer ownership records and tighter market‑access rules that demand proven labour and sustainability standards. Countries that import Chinese‑caught seafood – especially the United States and EU members – must pass diligence laws that hold importers accountable for forced labour and IUU fishing.
It ends with a stark warning: “As long as the fleet operates under these conditions, it will devastate ecosystems, undermine food security and trample human rights.” Beijing’s ambition to be a responsible maritime power hinges on real‑world reforms, not just policy statements.
In short, China’s distant‑water fishing fleet is a global threat to our seas. The solution lies in tougher transparency, stronger enforcement and a commitment from China to change how it manages its offshore fishers.
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