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A fleet of Chinese fishing vessels was identified operating in int’l waters on the border of the EEZ around the uniquely biodiverse Galápagos Islands. @austinjbrush and Irina Bukharin took a look at the vessels’ networks & history of #iuufishing. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/jul/27/chinese-fishing-vessels-galapagos-islands
Using @WindwardOceans, we were able to identify over 300 fishing vessels operating near the Galápagos on July 29, 2020 and watch them in near-real time.
Who were the companies behind these vessels? Using @HSMarkit, we found ownership information for 248 of the vessels we saw fishing outside of the Galápagos, and mapped it out using @PalantirTech. (red = boats, blue = companies)
Some quick stats – 243 of 248 vessels are flagged to China. 124 vessels have owners located in Zhoushan, China. Many vessels have the same owner as other vessels (up to 20+!) operating in the area. Let’s take a closer look at some of these companies:
First up, Pingtan Marine Enterprise, beneficial owner of 21 of these vessels, according to IHS Markit. We highlighted the company in Strings Attached for its suspected involvement in IUU fishing, incl. a vessel seized in the Galápagos marine reserve. https://c4ads.org/s/Strings-Attached.pdf
Next, China National Fisheries Corp, CNFC, beneficial owner of 14 of these vessels, per IHS Markit. CNFC has been cited by @Greenpeace and others for IUU fishing.
https://www.cffacape.org/s/ScamontheAfricanCoastFINALPROOF11.pdf
https://www.cffacape.org/s/ScamontheAfricanCoastFINALPROOF11.pdf
Then we have Rongcheng Marine Fishery, owner of 4 of these vessels, per IHS Markit, and featured in @ejfoundation’s recent report on illegal fishing practices in Ghana and linkages to EU seafood market. https://ejfoundation.org/resources/downloads/EJF_Europe-A-Market-for-Illegal-Seafood-from-West-Africa_2020_final.pdf
Lastly (though we could go on), we’ve got Rongcheng Rongyuan Fishery, owner of 2 vessels fishing in the area, per IHS Markit, as well as a jigger that was caught illegally fishing in the Argentine EEZ, evaded capture, & then surrendered. https://en.mercopress.com/2020/05/15/chinese-jigger-which-had-escaped-arrest-finally-ordered-by-its-company-to-turn-in
The ownership networks of these 250 vessels show us the risk this fleet poses to the diverse, vulnerable waters surrounding the Galápagos Islands. Nat’l and int’l authorities, along with other watchdog and stakeholder orgs, should keep a close watch.
