Illegal Fishing on Chinese Vessels in African Waters of Southwest Indian Ocean

 The London-based Environmental Justice Foundation published in April 2024 a report titled "Tide of Injustice: Exploitation and Illegal Fishing on Chinese Vessels in the Southwest Indian Ocean."

China's distant-water fleet (DWF) is by far the world's largest.  This report maps the presence and activities of the Chinese DWF in the Southwest Indian Ocean, which includes the exclusive economic zones of the coastal states Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique and the Indian Ocean islands of Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles.  Illegal fishing and human rights abuses were found to be commonplace on Chinese vessels throughout the region.

Chinese vessels were linked to 86 unique cases (relating to 177 suspected or confirmed offences) of illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing or human rights abuses within the Southwest Indian Ocean region between 2017 and 2023.  

Chinese Port Construction and Overseas Naval Bases

 AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, published on 25 July 2023 a study titled "Harboring Global Ambitions: China's Ports Footprint and Implications for Future Overseas Naval Bases" by Alexander Wooley, Sheng Zhang, Rory Fedorochko, and Sarina Patterson.  

The authors suggest a list of port locations--where China has invested significant resources and maintains relationships with local elites--that may be favorable locations for future Chinese naval bases.

The Impact of China's Deep Water Fishing Fleet on Africa

The London-based Overseas Development Institute (ODI) published in June 2020 a major report titled "China's Distant-water Fishing Fleet: Scale, Impact and Governance" by Miren Gutierrez, Alfonso Daniels, Guy Jobbins, Guillermo Gutierrez Almazor, and Cesar Montenegro. 

China's deep-water fishing (DWF) fleet is the largest in the world, and contributes to significant negative effects on the environment and socio-economy of developing countries, including Africa.  In fact, China's DWF fleet is five to eight times larger than suggested by previous estimates.  ODI identified 16,966 Chinese DWF vessels. 

ODI also found almost 1,000 Chinese DWF vessels registered in other countries, more than half of them in Africa where enforcement measures are generally limited, and where fishing rights are often restricted to domestically registered vessels.  Ghana and Mauritania accounted for almost 30 percent of these registrations globally.  Cote d'Ivoire, Morocco, and Senegal also had significant numbers.  The problem is that China's DWF fleet is contributing to the depletion of fish stocks in waters off Africa and, together with DWF fleets from other countries, engaging in illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing activities.